As Through A Looking Glass
by IndigoXsoul
Summary: SG-1 find themselves on a planet that is strangely untouched by the Goa'uld. However, as it is with all places they visit - there is a secret behind the people's peace, and SG-1 find themselves embroiled in an age-old war between the natives and a creature that terrorizes them day and night. When the Doctor shows up, well, that's when it gets a bit weird.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: (feel free to skip my useless ramblings) **Hello, my dear readers, new and old! As promised, here it is - the new story I've cooked up for you all to enjoy. It's going to be a rather wild ride. This idea was originally just going to be Doctor Who related, but I realized that I really, really wanted to write a crossover between the two series because they happen to be my favorite science fiction series of all time. Both have amazing sets of characters and really wonderful plotlines. I chose to keep (mostly) up-to-date with Doctor Who, using Eleven and River, but there are references to Classic Who if you squint (I'm not one of those fangirls who has only seen the new series. Don't get me wrong, I love the new series to death, but I also love the old series and hate it when it's completely ignored considering it forms 7/8ths of Doctor Who canon). However, if you've only seen the new series, that's okay. Believe me, you don't have to be familiar with it to enjoy the story. The same goes for those of you who have only seen SG-1 - the canon of Doctor Who is more or less explained here. **There will be spoilers if you haven't seen Doctor Who or seen the show up-to-date.**

To all the Whovians who haven't seen SG-1, the fic does start out with those characters, but my goal is to write them in such a way that you don't really have to see the show to understand them. Most of the canon of SG-1 is also explained (with minimal spoilers).

Anyway, with all of that now out of the way, I hope you guys enjoy this! Please, come on in, stay a while. Have some tea and a chocolate chip cookie with extra chocolate chips. There are still some fluffy, purple chairs left over from my other stories if you want to sit in those, as well as big comfy leather chairs and a fireplace that I totally own. So make yourself comfortable and please enjoy! Don't forget to leave your dishes in the sink and drop me a review on your way out. Questions, comments, and (constructive) criticism are always welcome. I promise I don't bite. :)

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**As Through A Looking Glass**

_By _

_IndigoXSoul_

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**1**

"_Every Name is real - that is the nature of Names." - Stargirl_

All was not well in Fembur, not with the Time-Keeper in hiding and the Darkling prowling about. Of course, you wouldn't be able to tell that on this fine morning, not with the sun painting the sky with a rosy glow as it rose above the towering pines. To the west, woodsmoke lazily curled up towards the clouds, and to the East where the sun rises there stood a great Ring - the _Tumah. _It was here that a young woman sat, her hands folded in her lap, her skirts spread about her feet in the lush grass, her neck craned. Nobody had come with her - they were too afraid of the Darkling. It was rare that this Autumn ritual was missed but it was simply too dangerous for the faint of heart with the Darkling about. She didn't care. She wouldn't miss this for the world - for only on this exact day did the sun rise over the river, aligning in the perfect center of the _Tumah. _Here, it was said the Lord of Time landed an Age ago and freed the People from their bondage to the false gods.

Now, every year on the Autumn Equinox, when the veil between the worlds was thinnest, the very fabric of time itself could be rent apart. Here stood the _Tumah, _the gate between the worlds - the symbol of the Pond, the relic of the Lords of Time. Here, great things could be accomplished - one need only seek them.

It had been a difficult winter. Even with the Darkling in hibernation during those treacherous months, resources had dwindled as the trees had one by one fallen prey to frost and wind storms. Many houses had been destroyed by falling trees. Animals had been killed. Her own brother, Eljan, had decided to leave home to seek his fortune on the winds of fate, sailing off on the River.

She could still remember his parting words: "_Hail the Tumah for me, Amariel?"_

That was why she had come today when so many, including the priestess, had abandoned the effort. She must do this for Eljan. Somebody had to look out for him.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath of air, relishing the quiet of early-morning. It was only moments away now. Her heart began to pound wildly in her chest as she could feel the sun nearing the moment.

A splash of golden warmth on her face. Her eyes jerked open. Her breath was stolen away by the light spilling through the _Tumah, _playing on the river. She stood to her feet, opening her arms to the air.

Then, the faintest of whispers in her heart, never to be spoken aloud until the Silence was broken:

Her true name.

She was about to speak Eljan's to the _Tumah _as well when she was interrupted. What happened next was not what she expected. The _Tumah_ roared to life. She let out a yelp and fell to the ground as it spun, water bursting from its depths like an enormous splash. Her blood was rushing in her ears as she dared to look up, seeing the blue, watery surface stretch in the center of the ring. Light flickered off of the blue depths, shimmering, shining.

_ So it was true._

She scrambled to her feet, catching up her skirts in her fingers, and spun on her heel. That morning, that very Autumn Equinox, she ran like she'd never ran before.

Heavy, militaristic boots struck the stone platform that the Stargate rested on with a sandy _swish. _SG-1 looked around them, taking note of the beautiful landscape. Daniel was the last to come through, squinting under the bright sunlight as the gate closed behind him. He looked behind him to see a winding, rippling river meandering through the forest, cutting a path through its sandy banks. It seemed to have been there for ages, for it rested in a sharp ravine. When Daniel turned and looked ahead of him, he saw only trees and underbrush.

"The planet seems to be inhabited." The stoic, firm presence of the large Jaffa, Teal'c, made its presence known at his side. His dark eyes were turned toward the sky, locking on the steady stream of smoke pouring from the West.

Daniel's nose wrinkled as he pushed his glasses up his face so he could see better. "Yeah. Looks like it."

Their commander, Col. Jack O'Neill, looked at his second. Sam's blue eyes were trained on her scanner, brows knitted together, her straw-colored hair sticking out around her ears from under her standard-issue green cap.

"Carter?" He cocked his head to the side in a silent question.

"Well, Sir," She began, "From what my scanner is telling me, this planet is very rich in Naquadah and other resources - if the indigenous people are mining it, then this could be potentially very useful to us. We could power a couple hundred Naquadah reactors with just what I've been finding. We could eventually even become fossil fuel independent if I can manage to get some of it back to the lab to run some tests-"

"-So we're here to make friends, I gather?" Jack replied in his best 'get to the point without the scientific lingo' voice.

Teal'c's gaze was pensive as he stood there in the sunlight, powerful form standing statuesque in the morning air, gripping his staff-weapon in his right hand. "If there is Naquadah the Goa'uld are likely to have already exploited the natives, O'Neill."

"Teal'c's right," Daniel took some steps down from the platform and stepped onto the soft, bright green grass. "If the planet's as rich as Sam says it is, there's no way they wouldn't have gotten to it before us."

"So we're liberating some people, then," Jack clarified.

Sam nodded, the muscles in her neck tightening as she turned off her scanner and put it in her pack. "Looks like it, Sir."

Daniel cut a look towards the two of them. "Well, we don't know that yet."

"Let's find out, shall we?" Jack left his hand on the reassuring metal of his P-90, fingers twitching as his brown eyes hardened to glittering jewels, surveying the landscape ahead of them. Daniel, of course, was distracted by other matters when his eyes caught markings on the base of the platform the Gate rested on. While the rest of SG-1 followed Jack, Daniel went the opposite direction and crouched in the dew-moistened grass, squinting at the symbols. He reached up and gently brushed the dirt away with his fingers. It fell freely to the ground. Fingertips traced the edges of the stone in circles. He'd never seen script like this before. What was it? This was certainly a conundrum. It wasn't like anything he'd ever seen on earth. It looked like a bunch of circles, lines, and more circles and rings inside of them - planet charts, maybe?

Perhaps the people on this planet were more sophisticated than they originally thought.

"Uh, guys?" Daniel called. "You may want a look at this."

The group ambled over. Jack bent and frowned at the symbols while Sam got to Daniel's level. Her clear eyes were taking it in, bent on trying to understand. "Is this a language?" she asked presently. She looked up at Teal'c to see if he knew what it was.

Teal'c only stared at the etched stone. "I do not recognize it if it is," he replied evenly.

Daniel frowned. "Neither do I. I've never seen anything like it on earth. It seems to have the structure of a written language - but it's so strange." He pulled out his notebook and began copying the circles down.

Sam nodded. "Charts of planetary orbits, maybe?" she offered.

Daniel cut her a glance and gave a short grunt of agreement. "I was thinking that, or maybe charts of their moons and sun."

Jack had soon grown bored of their conversation and had returned his eyes to the treeline. His gaze hardened again and his form stiffened, muscles tightening. His fingers gripped his P-90. "Hold up, kids."

Sam frowned and stood. "What?"

Teal'c too seemed to have seen it. His eyes narrowed as he stared at the darkness between the trees. "There appears to be some movement within the forest."

Jack glanced at him and gave a short nod, lifting his gun and glaring at the trees as if they posed some threat. Daniel stood as well, dusting off his hands. "Maybe it's friendly." Always the optimistic diplomat of the team.

"Not going to take that chance just yet, Daniel," Jack mumbled, taking a few cautious steps across the grass to get a better look.

The skin around his eyes tightened as the underbrush rustled. Jack peered through his sight on the gun, Teal'c's chest puffed out and he raised his staff-weapon. Sam picked up her gun as well, pointing it at the unknown threat. Daniel's tongue poked uncomfortably at the side of his cheek, his brows furrowing as he blinked from behind his glasses. He didn't want to hurt anyone, but getting his own pistol out might be a good idea.

A bright call rippled across the moor to them. "Right here, you'll see!"

Two women burst through the bushes. The first was tall, with a mouse-like face and round, brown eyes. Her dark hair pinned back, her loose dress dirty. When she saw the team, the wondrous smile died on her lips. She fell a step backward, glancing back at the older woman she'd been leading by the hand.

With a strong, sinewy arm, the older woman tucked the younger behind her. Her gaze sharpened as she stared at the team, her lips pursed.

Daniel raised his hands in the air. "It's okay. We're nice."

Jack glanced back at him, his eyebrows soaring to record heights. "We're _nice?"_

Daniel rolled his eyes and simply shrugged. "Jack, you're scaring them."

Sam and Teal'c were the first to relent. Teal'c relaxed his form, lowering his staff-weapon and then holding it more like a staff than a weapon. Sam stood up straighter and held her gun to her chest, though she was ready to raise it if there came a need.

The older woman's gaze flicked between the three and then Jack, then back again. Slowly, Jack rolled his eyes and stood down as well. The two women seemed relieved.

"What do you mean, a pond in the _Tumah?" _the older woman said sharply to the dark-haired one. "I see nothing but a group of soldiers."

"-and an archaeologist," Daniel corrected without thinking.

If she understood what that meant, she didn't indicate it. The younger woman's gaze flicked to the ground, her cheeks beginning to burn. "There was a pond, I swear."

"Ah- excuse me, if I may interrupt?" Daniel asked mildly. Green eyes turned to him, glittering like emeralds. The woman's face was tight as she stared at him, waiting for him to continue. "Ah," he began again, "I-I'm Dr. Daniel Jackson, these are my friends Teal'c, Major Samantha Carter, and Colonel Jack O'Neill," he gestured to each in turn, "We're peaceful travelers - and if by _Tumah, _you mean that ring over there-" he jerked his thumb behind him, "Then yes, there was a pond, I suppose. We came through it. That's how we travel."

The more he spoke, the more the woman's eyes widened. She suddenly gathered up her skirts and bowed low, her forehead nearly touching the ground. "You came from the _Tumah?" _she whispered in awe, "You say you are a doctor?"

Daniel's brow furrowed and he looked back at the team. They simply shrugged at him, completely at a loss. Daniel turned back to the two women and nodded. "Yes, yes I am. I'm a doctor of Archaeology..."

"-The study of lost things," the younger one breathed.

"I suppose you could call it that, yes." Daniel was feeling more and more bewildered by the moment.

"Come," the older woman said suddenly, beckoning to them, "Come," she repeated, "Doctor, Colonel, Major, and Teal'c - you must join us at the city. You are most welcome!" A smile spread across her face and she turned towards the forest, making it very clear that they were to follow. She glanced back at them. "I am Deabla - this is Amariel. You must hurry! We've been expecting you!"

As she took Amariel's hand and pulled her back towards the forest down a path none of them had noticed before, the team exchanged glances.

"Well," Jack said presently, "This sure is different."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: (feel free to skip my useless rambling)** Welcome back everyone! I'm pleased that this chapter is up so soon. As some general housekeeping: I want to thank you all for the lovely response I've had for the first chapter. You guys are awesome. Special kudos to T.R. Meyers, denise3, and Evenmoor because they reviewed! Also, I should have a tentative (and by that I mean _very very loose) _posting schedule figured out for you guys by next week so you know when to expect updates. This week is my first week back at Uni for Spring Term so I'm trying to get an idea of when I'll have time to write and post. Anyway, all of that aside - _and the plot thickens_. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. I really have missed working with the SG-1 characters. I haven't done something like this in ages. So sit down, have a cup of tea or hot chocolate or any other beverage you desire and take a cookie! Read and enjoy, and don't forget to drop me a review on the way out. I'll see you guys soon!

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_2_

"_The wide world is all about you. You may believe you can fence yourself in, but do not think you can fence the world out." - JRR Tolkein_

Presently, the forest gave way to spires that rose far above the trees and a wide stone wall that seemed to go on for miles. A gate stood wide open, made of a sort of metal - it seemed to be iron but one could never tell on these alien worlds. It towered above them, the metal wrought into solid, opaque, but somehow graceful curves that came to a peak just a few feet above the top of the white, granite-like stone. The lock was of special interest, having been fashioned in a complicated series of circles. They jutted out from the otherwise flat surface of the gate, and they seemed to be little interlocking gears or wheels of some sort that worked a vast mechanism. Sam desperately wanted to have a look at that, but Daebla and Amariel had no intention of stopping. They had no reason to. They'd seen that gate their whole lives and probably knew how it worked.

The road was now bustling with cabbage-sellers and mounts on a sort of animal that seemed to be a combination of an elk and a horse. Dogs barked, children ran about playing tag, but some of the activity halted in favor of staring at the strangers. SG-1 were, of course, used to this. Jack simply tipped the rim of his standard-issue cap to them with a wry smirk.

As they entered the city, they noticed that the pattern of the lock on the gate was repeated all over the town. The interlocking circles were engraved on the edge of buildings and occasionally were made out in the stones on the street. Daniel was fascinated. It obviously had some sort of cultural significance and he wondered what. A resounding cry was heard above their heads, a shadow raced across the ground. They glanced up to see a majestic sort of bird. Its feathers were colored the same as a peacock, with the plumes of a tail trailing behind. Its wings were shaped like a falcon, and the beak as well - glinting in the sunlight. Sam shaded her eyes as she looked up at it, and then glanced at Amariel.

"Is that normal around here?"

Amariel blinked at her in confusion and then looked up at the bird. "Oh. The hawk? Yes, of course."

Jack squinted at her, wrinkling his nose. "_That's_ a hawk? What does it do? Carry off sheep?"

She looked completely unbothered and nodded shortly. "Sometimes." Then, she turned and ran to catch up with Daebla, whose form was quickly disappearing in the crowd.

Jack looked at Teal'c and shrugged. "Giant peacock-hawks. Cool."

Teal'c merely stared at him before nodded and and continuing after the rest of the group. Daniel was busy asking Daebla about the circles.

"What do they mean?" he seemed to almost demand, his eyes narrowing behind his glasses.

The woman frowned at him. "You do not have them where you come from?"

"No...we come from very far away."

"You must, if Grandfather has not reached you to give them to you," she replied in a dry tone.

"Grandfather?" Daniel was just confused now. He'd never heard of any sort of deity of the like.

Amariel caught up her skirts and jumped around a puddle. "As the Tales of Grandfather say, '_We will call him Grandfather, because he is wise and older than our Land, he is as old as Deep Heaven'._" As she recited the words, a fond smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.

Daebla's face broke out into a smile - the first they'd seen. "Ah, _How True Names Came to be Hidden by the People, _very good, Amariel."

The teenager looked a little offended. "Don't act so surprised. I listen to the legends, same as anyone."

"But I didn't expect you to be able to quote the words from the walls just yet," Daebla replied. "I know you know the stories."

"Does 'Grandfather' have a name?" Jack asked, his eyebrows flying to the top of his head.

Daebla nodded. "Of course he does," she stated as if it were obvious.

"So why not use it?" Daniel asked.

"Because we don't know what it is, that's how it should be," Amariel stated. She stopped in front of a stone hall and grabbed Daniel's hand. "Come on!"

The building was different from the others in the city - older. The spires seemed to be new and imposing and cold. The hall, however, was made of a much darker looking stone that was carpeted with the beginnings of wild moss and lichens. The roof was made of sturdy planks that looked newer than everything else - it'd probably had to have been repaired recently, for whatever reason. It was a distinctly different style, harkening back to the time of a celts - a circular mound of a building. Daniel's mind grasped for the word, and he came back with _roundhouse._

They entered the building. It was mostly empty, save for a few people mulling about among the long, oak tables. A window opened to a balcony that overlooked the slithering river that wound through the forest like a silver snake. Daniel's fingers brushed across the celtic designs and the language etched in the wood of the walls. He frowned and took out his notebook.

"Down, Daniel," Jack commented as he passed.

Daniel, of course, paid him no attention. "It looks a bit like Ancient." He gestured to the symbols.

Teal'c stood behind him and nodded once. "It does appear to be very similar."

"Ah, Amariel?" Daniel called. The girl turned from where she was watching the river and nodded. He continued, "Is this your language?"

"No," she shook her head, "Well - it used to be, but it's not anymore. We've forgotten how to read it." Her brow furrowed. "I think Grandfather will be displeased when he returns."

"'Grandfather's coming back?" Sam frowned.

"When?" Jack asked.

"We don't know," Daebla called as she came back with some food. One seemed to be a bubble shaped coconut of a sort of golden color, which she split open to reveal a white, starchy inside - similar to the texture of a banana. The rest were all types of meat. Daniel happily took a bite and then blinked as he chewed on the fruit.

"Interesting," he commented.

Sam took a bite as well, and Jack reluctantly followed suit while Teal'c sampled the meat.

"It's like halfway between a... pineapple and a plum, but it's like eating a coconut that has the texture of a banana," Sam mused.

Jack stared at his slice. "Pine...plumnutana." he decided. "Pineplumnutana."

Teal'c stared at him, mouth full of a mammoth size bite of meat.

"We call it dragonpearl," Daebla supplied.

"Ah," Jack nodded. He liked his name better. He continued to mumble 'Pineplumnutana,' letting the word roll around in his mouth as Daebla cut herself a slice of dragonpearl.

"If you're interested in the old language, Doctor, Amariel could take you to the catacombs - that is where we get all of our legends from," the woman said presently, flipping her hair over her shoulders.

Daniel seemed to perk up at the mention of the catacombs, as was expected. What archaeologist could resist? He leaned forward in his seat. "Oh really? When were the catacombs formed?"

"They are the burial site for all of those who were killed when the False Gods came."

Teal'c raised an eyebrow. "The Goa'uld?"

"Is that what you call them?" Daebla asked, frowning. "Are these Goa'uld parasites that control the living and claim to be gods?"

Sam nodded in surprise. "Yes. We've been fighting them for years now."

Amariel spread her skirt neatly around her legs and smiled. "Grandfather drove them away thousands of years ago, they've never bothered us since."

"So what's the wall for, then?" Jack asked, standing, his fingers resting casually on the P-90 slung across his shoulders.

Amariel looked at Daebla as if she were unsure how to answer. Sam frowned and leaned back in her chair. "Well, you have to have enemies," she replied, her gaze cutting between the two women as Jack stared out into the darkening day.

Daebla struggled to find the words, wringing her little finger in her others as she thought. "The wall's meant to keep out the wild things," she finally answered.

"Just the animals?" Daniel frowned. "What about your neighbors?"

"They're all trading partners," Daebla said shortly before standing. "Amariel, why don't you show the Doctor the catacombs?"

Amariel stood as well and nodded. "Yes, I think that would be a good idea." She gestured towards the hall that branched to the left, "Come."

Daniel slowly got up and began to follow her. Jack stopped him. "Take Teal'c with you."

Daniel nodded and Teal'c caught up his staff weapon and started after the two. Daebla's lips pursed and she stood, walking out toward the balcony and leaving Sam and Jack alone in the main room.

Jack set down his slice of Dragonpearl. "I don't trust them," he whispered, "They're hiding something."

Sam could only nod in agreement.

The hall got narrower and narrower and more dusty. Daniel's nose picked up a distinctly musky scent as the hall seemed to turn into a tunnel and slope downward. Amariel had already lit a candle and Daniel had retrieved his flashlight. They stopped at another iron gate, similar to the one on the wall outside the city, with an identical lock, and Amariel turned each wheel to a particular degree and pushed the door open. It protested with a loud shriek, and Daniel winced. He wondered if everyone knew how to work those locks.

Amariel led them down further still, shutting the door behind her and lighting the torches on the wall as she went. "So these are the catacombs." She gestured to the walls filled with stone boxes, presumably filled with bodies. Daniel was more interested with the writing and pictures on the walls. He pointed the beam of his flashlight and started toward them, his fingers brushing on the symbols.

"That is Goa'uld," Teal'c observed, frowning.

Daniel nodded. "Yeah..." he read it aloud, "The_ Tumah_ was opened, and the Pond of water came/From the Pond came the rushing River." His eyes followed the picture and saw the gush of water from the circle - the Stargate, and saw it carrying away the evil-looking, dark-painted creatures.

Amariel nodded. "Yes, we can still read that one, that's how we know what it says. But we can't read the circles." She gestured towards the symbols below the Goa'uld - probably a cross-translation of some sort.

Daniel frowned. "But you have them everywhere."

"Just one pattern of them - Grandfather's name. But we can't read it or write it anymore. I'm not sure we ever knew how."

"Then who wrote these?" Daniel gestured towards the circles etched in the wall.

Amariel shrugged. "The River, probably."

Teal'c's eyebrow raised. "How can a river write?"

"I don't know, it just does - in all the legends the River is very wise and a studier and finder of lost things - like you, Doctor," she nodded to Daniel.

"Oh. I wouldn't say I'm wise..." the archaeologist looked chuffed, but he shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose, returning to the markings.

He continued to walk and then stopped when he found a strange, new one. It was a dark, seemingly unknown shape, with a spiky tail and a hideous mouth, but as it moved on a panel, then it seemed shapeless - formless, and was shown swallowing an unwitting person. He frowned and turned to Amariel. "What's this?" He turned back. There were no markings, nothing.

Amariel shook her head. "I... don't know."

Teal'c studied her for a long time quietly as she backed away, eyes flicking from the drawing to Daniel and then to her. "You do," he said presently.

"I cannot speak of it," she whispered, eyes wide. The torch on the wall seemed to flicker, making the shadowy drawing on the wall appear to move on its own.

Daniel pointed his flashlight back at it. "Why not?"

"To speak of it would be to bring it here," she hissed back.

A rippling growl echoed through the catacombs. Teal'c gripped his staff weapon, Daniel pointed his flashlight down the hall. "What was that?"

Amariel was trembling she fell three steps back, then two more. "We have to leave. Now."

The growl resounded, deeper, louder - the shadows on the wall danced. Amariel grabbed Daniel's hand and whispered, "_Run_!"


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: (feel free to skip my useless ramblings) **Hello, all my dear readers! I'm so amazed at the reception the fic has gotten. You guys are truly awesome. I do try to make it a point to reply to each review - and I'm sorry if I'm a bit slow on it. This week has been absolutely insane. But, as general housekeeping items are first - thank you to ErikArden, redDaeth, Suuki-Aldrea, T.R. Meyers, and Evenmoor for taking the time to review. Now that I have a good idea of how my schedule works out, I believe that will be (and I mean this quite loosely, guys) updating around every **Friday** during the **evening, which for me is around 7 or 8 US Pacific Time. **I'm glad you guys are enjoying this! I hope you like this chapter as much as you liked the last one. So relax, sit down with your tea or whatever hot drink you desire, take a cookie, and read away. Don't forget to drop me a review on the way out - they're candy :)

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**_3_**

_"Take it from me: If you hear the past speaking to you, feel it tugging up your back and running its fingers up your spine, the best thing to do-the only thing-is run." - Lauren Oliver_

Jack, Sam, and Daebla were sitting enjoying their tea and dragonpearl when a roar shook the floor. Daebla's eyes widened and she shot out of her seat. Jack gripped his P-90 and glanced at Sam and then their guide.

"What was that?" he snapped.

The roar had sounded like it was coming from under the building, rippling up through the passage where Amariel had led Daniel and Teal'c.

Daebla's eyes closed and she froze as the roar rumbled again. She took a breath. "The one the wall is built for."

Apparently the deadly sound had been heard by the town, because pandemonium was breaking out in the square. Jack shot out of his chair and tore down the hall in the direction that Daniel had went. Sam ran after him. She could faintly recollect Daebla calling after them, probably trying to stop them, but the only thing they could think about was the fact that Daniel and Teal'c were down with whatever was making that noise.

Jack's heart was pounding in his chest. Daniel was down there somewhere with a dangerous alien and he had _let him go._ Daniel and Teal'c - the entire team - was his responsibility, and he was not about to let anything happen to them within their first ten minutes of being on the new planet. He skidded to a stop, a great cloud of dust rising from around his feet, when Daniel, Teal'c, and Amariel burst from the rusty, hinged gate into the hall.

"Jack! Run!" Daniel said frantically, bumping into him and then pushing him down the hall as fast as Jack could go. Teal'c was already hustling Sam away. Amariel needed no convincing. She was already up and away as fast as her legs could carry her.

"What is it?" Sam asked a bit breathlessly.

"Ah," Daniel glanced back and then pointed, "That."

When Sam looked over her shoulder, her blue eyes widened at the thing she saw - or rather, _almost saw. _It was there, and yet it wasn't. It was more like... Sam didn't know how to describe it. Her scientific mind had no answer for her apparent awareness of the creature. The thing was, it wasn't quite a knowing. She couldn't explain how she felt intuitively that it was scrambling on all fours toward them, quick as lighting, or explain how one minute she saw a sort of heartbeat and the next she saw ribs and flesh and the next simply thin air. It seemed all at once to only be a sound, a rushing, a movement, but also a force made of hard, sharp bones and thin flesh. Her mind couldn't wrap around it. All she knew was that her heart was in her mouth and she needed to _get away._

Thankfully for Jack and Teal'c, the creature was not so inherently disturbing for them as it was for their more scientific-minded friends. Teal'c squared his form up toward the beast, his eyes narrowed, trying to see what couldn't be seen. Jack, on the other hand, gripped his P-90, took aim at the effects - where the dust in the hallway stirred, the sounds rippling down the hall, the flickering form, and shot several rounds.

For a moment, there was a sound that seemed, if a sound could seem to be anything, a little distressed. Jack took his gaze out of his sight and watched, praying that had done some damage. The... whatever it was... had disappeared.

Yet that awareness was still there: the chill along his spine, a noise that sounded not unlike breathing, a swirling in the dust in the darker parts of the corridor.

Then - a horrible noise, a splash of sound that made his scalp tingle. A noise that could be of some relation to laughter.

Teal'c's brow furrowed as he watched, perplexed, the creature swirled back into a more distinct being. All at once, if only for a moment, it was visible. It was truly a monster - a demon if ever he saw one. A backbone came to a point in a ghastly, lizard-like head. From it protruded two cold, fishy eyes, a faint blueish color, and clouded over with a kind of blind mist. The creature's bones seemed to be covered with only a thin membrane - yet there were distinct, flexing muscles that bulged from its form, thin though they were. It had four legs, as had been the impression, each armed with a set of scratching, cruel claws that glinted in the half-light of the room.

It was there, solid as could be for a moment, and Teal'c gripped his staff-weapon and fired a shot, thinking that perhaps his energy-based assault would be more effective. It only irked it. The creature dissipated in a rush of mist, the blaze of the staff weapon exploding into the wall behind it. Then that mist rushed, howling down the corridor after them.

Both the Jaffa and the human Colonel found it in their best interest to bolt down the hall and into the main room, then out, down the steps, and into the town. The sun was still shining, and the light was uncomfortably warm as their feet pounded across the pavement. Teal'c reached out, grabbed a fistful of Jack's standard-issue green jacket, and pulled him into a side-alley. They could hear the Thing rushing, rumbling along behind them.

"We have to find Daniel and Carter," Jack hissed.

Teal'c nodded, flattening further against the wall as he felt the creature draw nearer. The whole city had gone deathly silent, abandoned in a matter of minutes. He wondered where they could have all gone and if Daniel Jackson and Major Carter had gone with them. Could they be hiding somewhere? If so, he hadn't a clue where to look for them.

Jack took a furtive glance around the wall and then frowned. "Where is everybody?" he asked again.

Teal'c looked around and then nodded. "I have been thinking the same thing. They must have gone to hide."

Jack took a breath. "Then we'll have to find them and avoid _that_." Always the one to state the obvious.

They didn't notice the mist that was creeping around the building and headed straight toward them.

* * *

Daniel lifted the last little boy down the hatch into one of the dark tunnels that led down to the catacombs that laced the city. Apparently, they hid here in times of trouble. Daniel of course had questioned the logic of it, seeing how the alien had came from the catacombs, but Amariel had assured him that it hadn't - it must have gotten in there through one of the tunnels. He hadn't had much time to think on that statement and hadn't really wanted to. Jack and Teal'c were still out there somewhere. The last he'd seen of them, they'd been trying to do some harm to the creature - and it hadn't looked like it was working.

He dusted off his hands and more or less slid down the tunnel, then walked over to where Sam was checking the clip in her gun and gathered up his pack and hat. Amariel came to usher them further to safety and frowned when she saw that they were apparently packing up.

"What are you doing?" she asked incredulously, blinking at the two of them as they started back down the tunnel.

"Nobody gets left behind," Daniel replied, "Teal'c and Jack are still out there."

Sam nodded. "If there's a chance that they're still alive, we have to find them."

Amariel's eyes widened and she shook her head vigorously. "But you cannot! The creature would - it would kill you. You do do not know what you are trying to fight - your weapons - our weapons," she paused for emphasis, "No weapons can harm it. We must either wait until it leaves, or wait for Grandfather."

Daniel was about to make a remark when the tunnel shook with the sound of the creature's roar above them. It wasn't in the catacombs, but it was certainly doing its best to frighten those who were. Loose dirt and debris fell from the ceiling, and Amariel shouted above the horrible din, "We have to go deeper."

Without waiting for an answer, she took both Sam's and Daniel's hands and dragged them along the quivering, buckling passageway. How the structure was surviving under such stress, Sam couldn't figure out. It must have something to do with the vast network of iron cross-beams that supported the packed dirt and rock above their heads. Amariel led them into a large, circular cave that the tunnels sloped down into. Now, it was packed with people, all huddling together and comforting the children who were whimpering at the sounds of the fearsome monster above their heads. Daebla was trying to keep control over the situation, but nobody seemed happy with the choice to hide in the caves like ants under a rock hide from a heavy boot.

"What if it gets in?" one woman worried.

"Yeah-" her husband replied, "We cannot fight it."

Another, trembling young woman who seemed to be quite heavily pregnant and half in hysterics demanded, "What does it want? Why does it keep coming back?"

"It wants blood!" came the quivering, aged cry from an old woman in the back of the room.

At that exclamation pandemonium broke out once more and Daebla was obliged to bang a rock against a metal pot to get everyone's attention.

"We don't know what it wants!" she shouted, annoyed with the townspeople. Everyone quieted immediately, and she continued, "It's a wild beast, a wild beast no more wants revenge-blood than a beetle. It's probably hungry, or perhaps thinks we're in its territory." She kept her voice even and calming, trying to be the voice of reason among this crowd of frightened people. Her statement seemed to calm everyone down considerably - also because the beast seemed to have his attentions elsewhere at the moment. Daniel and Sam walked over to Daebla, who was walking around and lighting torches. They needed as much light as possible - it was easy for crowds to riot in the dark out of fear.

"We have to go find our friends," Daniel replied shortly.

Daebla turned her sharp gaze to the two of them. "Their fate is no longer in your hands. We wait for this attack to pass. There's nothing we can do to stop the creature."

Sam huffed. "There has to be a way to kill it. Nothing is immortal, right?" She glanced at Daniel, "Right?"

Daniel pursed his lips and nodded, but Daebla looked unconvinced. "The creature has been terrorizing us for generations. We haven't found a way to trap it, or kill it, or even to maim it. It takes what it wants and leaves."

"And what does it want?" Daniel asked, raising an eyebrow.

"As the old woman said, it always comes for blood," Daebla replied, her tone clipped and low as to keep the information from the surrounding crowd. It wouldn't do to stir up more fear and dissension among her people. "We must wait for Grandfather. He's the only one that will have the power to destroy it."

Daniel began to pace. He hated to disrupt the culture of a people - but he knew that they needed to stop relying on this elusive deity so much and actually do something to defend themselves. "You say that the monster's been attacking your people for generations - Daebla, I don't think Grandfather is coming."

"Grandfather is coming! I know he is!" came a voice of a more immature quality. Amariel butted in to their conversation with folded arms and a defiant gaze. "The wall says that Grandfather will come."

"Don't you think he would be here by now?" Sam pointed out.

Daebla shook her head and shrugged. "We have no way of knowing how long it takes to cross Deep Heaven," she replied back as if that were some sort of answer.

Daniel ran a hand through his hair and pushed up his glasses, but then Amariel seemed to take pause, her brow furrowing. Daebla frowned at her. "What is it?"

"Doctor Jackson- he saw the painting of the creature and spoke of it," she said quietly. The ceiling began to shake again, the roars drawing nearer, and a restless murmur echoed from the crowd.

Daebla whirled to Daniel. "Is this true?"

He held up his hands, looking at Sam for help. The scientist's hands went ever-so-cautiously to her gun, just in case, her muscles tensed. "I didn't know that it was a taboo, I'm sorry," Daniel replied back.

"Then you have brought this upon us," Daebla hissed angrily.

The walls shook and more debris fell from the ceiling. Definite footsteps could be heard and people jumped to their feet. That same old woman cried out, "It is coming! It is coming for us!"

"Elleth! You will kindly hold you tongue!" Daebla snapped to her. She was quickly losing control of the situation. Talk came of giving it the blood it craved, of sending someone to the surface, accusations were made and Sam's fingers tightened around her gun. Daniel instinctively took a step closer to her. Snuffling that seemed mere inches away was rippled through the room - a _scratching, digging, _noise - dry and horrible. The children were whimpering as the tension in the room rose. Daebla could do nothing but keep silent as names and shouts were flung across the room. When it seemed that they were close to throwing one man out the hatch, another voice rang out through the mob's din.

"I will go."

A heavy silence descended and it came again. "I will go. Let me go. Nobody else has to die."

Daebla's eyes closed and she turned, opening them again as the crowd parted to reveal a rather small young man. She sighed. "Curt, now is no time to be a hero."

Daniel stepped forward. "Look, creatures like that are destructive - one death won't mean anything to it. It's not a goblin or a monster, it's just an animal," he replied.

Daebla seemed relieved at his support, however angry she had been at him earlier. The young man - Curt - stepped forward, shaking his head. "Open the hatch. It will go away. It always does once it takes someone."

Another, argumentative murmur ran through the crowd until finally, Curt glanced around at the grim faces. "It's worth a try, right?"

"I'm not opening the hatch," Daebla said, hoping that would be the end of it. Sam hoped so too. Someone shouldn't have to die like this.

Curt gave her a little smile. "Then I guess I will open it myself."

He started down the hall and Daniel and Sam tried to run after him. "Curt!" Daniel pleaded, "Don't!"

He was stopped by a firm hand on his shoulder, and turned to see Daebla, a sober look in her eyes. She shook her head. "It's his choice, Doctor." She turned to the crowd. "We will wait until it passes."

Daniel's eyes slammed shut as there came the creak of the hatch opening, the sound of footsteps scrambling out - the ring of it closing and locking, like a death sentence, reverberating through the catacombs. There came a roar - another sound, like a hideous laugh, pained screams, and then there was only silence.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: (Feel free to skip my useless rambling) **And we're back with the next installment. This one is a bit shorter than the rest because it's mostly dialogue - but don't worry, the plot does, of course, move on. It's good to see you all :) I hope you're enjoying the story. Now for the general housekeeping - thank you for the lovely reviews and all the new follows! Special kudos to Evenmoor, Sukki-Aldrea, redDaeth, and undyinghunter for taking the time to review. Your input is much appreciated and never fails to make my day! This chapter we're still with Sam and Daniel. Don't worry, you guys will find out what's happened to Jack and Teal'c soon, I promise. -Oh, and the Doctor might show up soon, he just might ;))

Anyway! I'll shut up now. Sit down, have a cup of any hot beverage you enjoy, put your feet up and take a cookie and enjoy this next chapter! Don't forget to leave me a review on the way out. I don't bite and you'll make me smile :) I love hearing from you guys - that way it doesn't feel like I'm talking to an empty room. Oh, and you'll get on the kudos list ;)) (WOW, okay, I'll shut about about the reviews already!) Back to the story, sorry! xP Please enjoy it, and I'll see you all next Friday.

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**4**

"_To sit back hoping that someday, someway, someone will make things right is to go on feeding the crocodile, hoping he will eat you last - but eat you he will."__ - Ronald Reagan_

Daniel couldn't sleep that night. It was little wonder. The caves rumbled with the footfalls of the monster and in the archaeologist's head echoed the slam of that hatch and the screams of the sacrifice. Above him, stalactites incessantly dripped ice-cold mineral water onto his neck - yet everything still seemed unbearably quiet. The people who could sleep did so in silence. The others, the awake ones, were too frightened to even breathe. Sam was awake, a pensive look furrowing her brow and tightening the skin around her eyes and mouth. Daniel fidgeted with the edge of his jacket. The silence seemed oppressive and he was obliged to break it.

"Worried about Jack?" he asked her in a low whisper.

Sam looked up at him, mildly surprised that he was speaking, and gave a short nod. "Yeah-" she paused, "And Teal'c."

A knowing smile tugged the corners of Daniel's mouth upward. "But mostly Jack?"

Quickly changing the subject, Sam replied in a thoughtful tone, "I've been trying to figure out what that thing is made of. I mean- it's invisible and our guns couldn't touch it."

Daniel shrugged. "Somebody has to do something. People are dying."

Again, Sam nodded. She had to agree with him. She just didn't know what they could do. There was something about the creature that didn't sit well with her logical, scientific mind. It defied all laws of physics - everything that made sense to her. It couldn't exist one minute and not the next. Bullets couldn't just pass through it like it was smoke - not if it was able to do tangible harm. This was uncharted territory. It was true that she was to expect the unknown every time she stepped through the Stargate - but Sam always thought that the Universe operated by the same natural rules that Earth did.

Now she wasn't so sure.

Someone stirred at the edge of the cave and her gaze snapped up to see Amariel and Daebla speaking in hushed tones. Daebla looked surprised, a little hurt, and Amariel seemed very insistent and earnest in her words. Sam cut a glance to Daniel, who pursed his lips and rose to see what the matter was. Sam followed him, straining to listen as she neared the pair.

"We don't know how long this will last - people are getting hungry. There's no water down here," Amariel hissed.

"It hasn't left yet. We wait for it to go, or we wait for Grandfather." Daebla's arms were crossed, her stance wide as she glared at the younger woman.

"Or we meet it head-on," Sam broke in, an eyebrow quirking as her form squared against Daebla's.

"That is folly," she scoffed, "No one confronts it and lives."

Daniel sighed and shook his head. "There has to be a way to stop it." He paused, searching for the diplomatic alternative as usual, "Maybe we won't even have to kill it."

The woman didn't look convinced. "Your weapons are useless. We wait for Grandfather." She apparently would not be moved.

Daniel's lips pursed. He was getting a little tired of this Grandfather business. He pinched the bridge of his nose and then stated carefully, "Daebla, I don't think that Grandfather's coming."

It was a bold statement, especially for him. The anthropologist and archaeologist side of him said not to interfere with their beliefs. The logical side of him feared for their safety if this went on. If "Grandfather" had actually driven the Goa'uld from the planet then he himself had to be an ancient alien. If his story had had time to fade into myth then by now he would be thousands of years old. The only alien species Daniel knew of that lived that long was the Goa'uld - and even that was with the aid of their healing devices - their sarcophagus. People would die of thirst down here i they waited for someone who just didn't exist any longer.

Daebla now glared at him, a kind of unpleasant ferocity in her eyes. "He will," she ground out.

"Don't you think he would be here by now?" Sam supported Daniel. He gave her a grateful glance. They couldn't wait for Grandfather. Eventually the beast would make its way back into the catacombs and kill whomever it wished. Something had to be done before that happened. They weren't safe - the catacombs were little better than a trap.

"We don't have any idea how long it takes to cross Deep Heaven," she snapped back in defense.

"There has to be something we can do in the meantime, then," Daniel said, trying to be tactful and resolve the argument peacefully.

"There isn't."

"-what about the Keeper?" was the soft question from Amariel. Everyone turned to look at her. She'd been quiet for so long that they'd nearly forgotten she was there. Amariel herself looked a little surprised at the fact that she'd spoken. Her mouth hung open and she wrapped her arms around herself, glancing furtively at the adults.

"What?" Daniel glanced at Daebla for an explanation.

Daebla gave Amariel a withering look, her eyes closing as she shook her head and gave a long-suffering sigh. "She means the Time Keeper, Aeone." She turned to Amariel, "If the Keeper were able to do something about the creature she would have."

"But she would know where Grandfather is and if it's time for him to come - and she would know how to stop the creature if it had anything to do with Grandfather's legends -even if she couldn't do it herself- wouldn't she?" Amariel looked hopeful - maybe even to the point of naivety.

"I suppose-"

"-If anyone would know anything the Keeper would," the young woman said in a rush, turning to Sam and Daniel, who looked just as confused as they felt.

"Amariel," Daebla quieted her rather impatiently and then rubbed at her temples.

"I'm sorry, we don't have..." Daniel's eyebrows knitted, "Keepers were we come from. What... do they do, exactly?"

"Oh, there's only one," Amariel said as if she were explaining to a small child, "Aeone knows everything there is to know about Grandfather and his stories and the writing on the walls in the catacombs and the prophecies about his return."

"So where can we find her?" Sam asked, frowning and putting her hands on her hips.

"I don't know," Daebla answered for Amariel, her tone sullen and begrudging.

Daniel rolled his eyes and sighed. They were just trying to help these people and Daebla wasn't cooperating. He had to admire her faith - but it was going to get her people killed. "Daebla, please."

"No, really, she doesn't," Amariel cut in, "Nobody knows where she is. She went into hiding when the creature came."

"She left to the forest. You have to go to the wild places and find her there," Daebla replied evenly, drawing out each word with care. It was clear this matter was important to her, whether or not she thought the same about it as the others. "It's dangerous, and I've not got anything to guide you."

Sam glanced at Daniel and Daniel frowned, pushing his glasses up his nose and blinking, perplexed. He had no idea where to even begin to look for this Keeper, Aeone. How could they find her in such a vast space in such a limited amount of time? They needed to save Jack and Teal'c as well... and he realized he hadn't a clue as to their whereabouts either. He didn't know if that thing had gotten them or if they were hiding somewhere... he didn't know anything at this point.

He looked up at the two women again and sighed. "Alright - we'll look for her - but we need a little bit more to go on than that. Is there anything? Anything written on the walls-" he gestured to the catacombs, "Or anything in your legends that might help?"

Daebla chewed on her lip, thinking hard. She glanced around the caves and then a light came into her eyes and she nodded. "The Keeper must have a view of the _Tumah_ at all times so she can keep an eye on it. It's extremely important - made by Grandfather's people."

Daniel paused and then glanced at Sam. Sam blinked at him and then looked back at Daebla. "Grandfather was an Ancient?"

"Is that what you call them?"

"-Very old race, very advanced, very, very powerful - built the Stargates, died out a long time ago?" Daniel supplied, his eyebrows knitting together.

She nodded. "That sounds like an accurate description."

"What do you call them?" Now Daniel was curious. He'd never met a people that had once had such a personal contact with the Ancients. They might be of more help to Earth than Stargate Command had originally thought.

"Time Lords."

Daniel nodded, satisfied for the moment. "Alright, so I guess we're looking in a pretty limited radius then."

Sam nodded. "Unless she's up high anywhere - and I haven't seen many vantage points as of yet."

Amariel blinked and made a little sound, and everyone turned to look at her. She blushed. "Sorry - I just-" she paused and glanced at Daebla for support before looking at Sam and Daniel, wringing her hands nervously. "You could try the cliffs of Ydenia."

"Where are they?" Sam asked as she went to get her things. Daniel got his backpack and looked expectantly at Amariel and Daebla.

"East," Daebla said, pursing her lips, "Due North of the _Tumah_, across the river. You can't miss them. They're squarish and when the sun hits them in the morning they glow a rose color. But you've got miles of forest in between you and them - not to mention the River."

"East it is," Daniel replied with a smile. "I promise you, we'll get help and fix this. That's what we do."

Daebla didn't seem convinced, but she tried to hide it as she gave him a weak smile and a nod. It was then that he realized something. It was quiet. There were no footsteps above him, shaking the cavern, no roaring, no horrible noises of any other kind. The coast was clear. He took a breath, praying that the reason for the silence wasn't that the creature had found Jack and Teal'c. He prayed that his friends were far away, hidden safely from the intangible, unknown alien. Sam gave Daniel a reassuring smile that didn't look like she was entirely reassured herself. He nodded to her and gave Amariel and Daebla a wave. "We'll be back soon."

"May the River protect you," was the murmured afterthought from the woman, causing Daniel to smile to himself. He'd always liked to think that all deities existed somewhere, in good and kind forms - at least, all the ones that were thought to be good and kind. Perhaps the River would protect them after all. He passed that hope onto his friends, lost somewhere on the planet, and made a promise to himself and Sam that they'd get them all home safely. No one would get left behind - not if he could help it.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: (feel free to skip my useless rambling)** Welcome back my dear readers, new and familiar! You guys are truly awesome and I look forward to writing this story and posting it each week, as I hope you are looking forward to reading it. As some general housekeeping: special kudos to those who reviewed: Evenmoor, redDaeth, Sukki-Aldrea, Miss Lesley, and Chris1701ab. You guys are fantastic! Each of your reviews make my day - even if I don't always have time to reply to them, I promise you I do appreciate each and every one :) For this chapter you guys will get a bit of an update on Jack and Teal'c - which I'm sure is welcome. Unlike the last chapter, there's not much dialogue in this one because our two more militaristic types tend not to do a lot of talking, I've noticed. Daniel and Sam never shut up! XD Anyway! Here it is, I hope you enjoy it! So sit down and make yourself comfortable and read, relish, and don't forget to drop me a review on your way out.

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**5**

_"Adventures are only interesting once you've lived to see the end of them. Before that they are nothing but fear, and being too cold or too hot or too wet or too hungry, and getting hurt." - Holly Lisle_

Slivers of dank, faintly green light pried their way into Teal'c's mind. He blinked for a few moments and then sat up, groping around for his staff. He found it not a few feet away from him, buried in some leaves. He seemed to be in some sort of forest - where, he didn't know. The ground was covered with mist and waning light leaked in from the canopy of deciduous leaves above him. Then, he realized that Jack had been with him, he remembered the smoke curling around their feet, the roar of the creature, his attempt to stave it off with his weapon - and when the creature found that they would not be an easy meal it had run off, distracted by something else. They had made a run for it here, to the tree-line, but night had fallen and they'd continued to run, unaware of where they were going.

Teal'c frowned and looked around him. Jack was nowhere to be seen. He caught up his staff weapon and called out in his booming, deep voice, "O'Neill?"

There came an answering groan from behind a tree and Teal'c ran over to see Jack lying there, limp, his face soured into a frown. He looked up at Teal'c in confusion and then around at his surroundings, gaze fuzzy.

"Am I dead?"

"You appear to be very much alive," Teal'c said, helping him to his feet.

Jack dusted some leaves off of his jacket and twigs from his hair and then looked at Teal'c, shrugging and deadpanning, "Unless you're dead too." He glanced around at the forest and wrinkled his nose, picking up his gun. "Where are we?"  
"I do not know," Teal'c replied with the same measured tone that he'd used previously.

Jack shook his head. "We have to get back to Carter and Daniel."

Teal'c nodded in affirmation, a mere incline of his head, before quietly looking around at the trees. Jack did the same, seeing only forest until there came a peculiar break in the foliage and he spotted a rise of cliffs. The morning sun was rising, casting the surface of the rocks with a faint dusty rose color. Jack shouldered his things and pointed. "Good vantage point," he grunted, starting toward the cliffs. "We'll be able to see the Stargate from the top of those, probably."

Teal'c nodded again and followed him, keeping a wary eye out for the creature in case it came here during the day.

Jack honestly felt like he had a whopper of a hangover. The previous night had been a bit of a haze, but he knew that the creature had had him in his grasp for a moment or two and then had suddenly let him go. He must've hit his head - which was not surprising. He had some vague memory of being thrown to the ground and then scrambling dizzily to his feet and staggering after the big Jaffa. Everything after that was darkness in his mind.

The Colonel wouldn't admit he was frightened. He had to be the brave one - even though Teal'c filled that slot in the team nicely, Jack was the leader. However he couldn't help but feel quite scared of an unkillable, invisible monster that could be lurking in the forest at this very moment. The day seemed bright and cheery enough, but it held a sort of cold edge, hiding in the shadows where the sunlight couldn't chase it away. He had that faint prickling feeling skating up his spine and settling into the back of his head - as if he were being watched - but he kept alert, his gaze flicking from tree to tree, and he saw no-one.

The whole thing unsettled him. Daniel hadn't told him what he'd seen in those tunnels - he hadn't had the time - but as much as Jack hated listening to the Archaeologist's mumbo-jumbo about ancient languages and long-dead myths... he admitted to himself that Daniel's expertise was often helpful. Here - he knew that it would be. He might have an idea of what it was, or how to stop it. Jack and Teal'c's weapons had been useless.

And then his mind turned to Sam. _Carter,_ he mentally corrected himself. She and Daniel had better not be separated. If they were, he'd have both of their asses. The two of them needed to stick together. Right now they couldn't afford to have any one of them lost by themselves. It was too dangerous. Jack needed to round his entire team back so he could drag them back through the gate safely, depositing them to the SGC and into Doc Fraiser's waiting penlight beam.

Jack smiled a bit to himself at that. He definitely wasn't looking forward to the medical exam after this mission.

More misty was swirling around the tip of the rose-colored cliffs the forest gave way to a winding, narrow path. It was barely visible among the scrubby brush that crawled up the side of the rocks, speckling them a withered green color among the distinctive red rocks. There was a mesa on the top that on the left side formed into a spiraling spike, jutting out to tear a hole in the sky. Beyond that was more highland forests with scruffy, waning pines.

Jack glanced at Teal'c and shrugged. "Tally-ho."

He and Teal'c began up the path. It was steeper than he had expected, and the path seemed to be made entirely out of gravel smashed to slippery dust. The higher they climbed, the more the wind seemed to howl and the mist seemed to close in. Once, Jack thought he saw something moving in it - a vague, serpentine shape. He prayed that that Thing hadn't followed them. He was grateful for Teal'c's reassuring, strong presence as the mist thickened. He could barely see a hand in front of his face.

His feet slipped and then there was only air below him. Jack let out a sharp bellow - a frantic in-take of breath as his arms flailed to catch him. Jagged rocks tore at his arms, and he could find nothing to take hold of. He began to slide down the mountain, blind in the mist, until a firm, huge hand caught his arm and stopped him.

He felt Teal'c haul him over the side of the path and then let go of him. "We ought to move more slowly," Teal'c said.

Jack nodded, blinking at the white air. "Yeah."

Their progress after that event was marked by a slow, sure trudging up the cliff-face - a testing of the rocks beneath their feet and hands, and occasionally an arm sweeping out to their right to see where the trail ended and a couple hundred feet of thin air began. Jack kept his left hand plant on the rock walls, feeling rather than seeing how the trail wended its way up the cliffs. It was an agonizingly slow speed - he had to admit that - but at least neither of them would be tumbling down the cliff again.

Eventually, the mist was burned off by the sun as she climbed to her peak in the sky. It wasn't hot - the air was still cool and crisp, and winds threatened to knock them off the cliff by sheer force. However, when there came a sheltering cornice, Jack and Teal'c stopped there to look out, having climbed high enough to see the surrounding area.

The view was truly breathtaking. Hills rippled, razored with towering pines and the softer lines of a deciduous wood. In the distance, he could see a line of mountains that jutted up into the sky, crowned by clouds that were being set on fire as the sun hit them. To his right, he could see the city - a blot on this panorama of the fairytale landscape. To his left Jack could just make out the ring of the Stargate, standing solitary and alone among that circle of stones with the mysterious cyclic writing. Through it all, the river rushed along, dominating the landscape. It snaked along, cutting its path in the verdant hills.

Silence was broken by a sudden crack from above their heads. Jack's gaze snapped up, his heart leaping into his throat as the cornice began to crumble above their heads. Teal'c slammed him against the wall of the cliff as boulder after boulder cracked off of the overhang and were dashed to pieces on the cliff-face. Jack's head pounded - a shadow streaked across the bullet and his blood turned to ice. So the creature had followed them.

Mist hardened to a thorny tail, swung with brutal speed in their direction. Jack ducked and Teal'c leapt out of its way. A horrible, spine-chilling roar and it turned to face them. Teal'c raised his staff-weapon. The energy-blast had slowed it for a moment, and they could use every second they could manage to get. Took aim and fired - but there was no satisfaction, only an empty, momentary victory as the creature dissipated back into mist and Teal'c grabbed Jack's arm and herded him up the jagged rocks.

It was a mad dash to the top of the cliff - a lethal race, where their speed could mean life or death. Jack glanced back over his shoulder once to see the black mist chasing after them, intangible - yet feet seemed to form and strike the gravel path as it glided among the scrub-brush and broken pines.

Before them was yet another wood. Jack scrambled up the last few feet of cliff and followed Teal'c, praying they could lose it there. In the rush, he made out a lone figure standing there. They ran, but stopped when she held up her hand.

"You must run!" Teal'c shouted at her.

The woman was slender, her dark hair ruffled by the wind. Her eyes were a clear blue. She squared her form to the creature as it neared. Its form was like liquid now, low to the ground as it stalked its prey. Jack couldn't see his face, but he got the distinct sense of its smiling - and grabbed at the woman's arm.

"You can't kill the damn thing!"

She glanced at him, a kind of anger in her eyes. "No, you can't."

There came a sickening whistle of air and the tail formed in mid-air, catching Teal'c in the stomach and throwing the Jaffa back several feet. He landed, winded and unconscious on the rock. Jack rushed forward, his heart in his mouth. The guy had to be okay - junior would take care of him - he hoped.

The woman responded quickly, leaping into action. She whirled to face the creature yet again. Her eyes narrowed and she shouted out two words that Jack, even as his un- intellectual self, recognized to be Ancient: "_Destit Stromva!_"

Before Jack had time to wonder how shouting at it could help anything - the creature sort of - shuddered. It dissipated into that liquid black smoke and then rushed down the mountainside and into the forest that rested at the bottom.

Jack blinked at her. He was about to open his mouth and ask her how on earth she could control the alien when the woman let out a small, surprised 'hm', and crossed her arms. She glanced at Jack and smiled a little and said with a voice as clear as the river that snaked below them, "Interesting. I wasn't sure if that would work or not."


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: (Feel free to skip my useless rambling) **O.O Midterms will soon be upon us! So if my updating times get weird then that's why - I have a buttload of studying. I do hope you guys are enjoying this as much as I am, so far, by your reviews - I think you are :) and that's lovely to see. So special kudos to EvenMoor, Sukki-Aldrea, PheonixRe, and redDaeth for the reviews! You guys are awesome! For this chapter, we are back with Sam and Daniel- though don't worry, we'll soon figure out what's going in Jack and Teal'c, if you're wondering. Just hang in there! I do hope my set-up for all of this isn't taking too long for any of you. Anyway, I'll shut up now so you can actually go read the story! Please get comfortable, grab a cookie and a hot beverage, and enjoy. Don't forget to leave the dishes in the sink and drop me a review (or constructive criticism) on your way out. I appreciate each and every one. See you all next week!

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6

_"After all, I believe that legends and myths are largely made of truth." - J.R.R . Tolkien_

At the next sunrise, Daniel and Sam were exiting the tunnel into a deceptively peaceful morning. The sun shone fair - but it was a cold, pale kind of light. The kind that warmed one's face but left one's bones still chilled. It wasn't strong enough to extend its fingers into the shadows that sheltered the brumal ground. The temperature seemed fitting to the destruction around them. Half the town was shredded. Roofs had been torn off, doors lifted from their hinges. A few bodies lay strewn about. Daniel glanced at Sam and watched as her face tightened and she took a deep breath, her chest rising and then quickly falling.

They poked around the rubble a bit, just to make sure that Jack and Teal'c weren't there. Sam tried reaching them through the radio several times with a "sir? If you're there, please respond", and "Teal'c?" - but she received only static in reply. It was then easily concluded that either their radios were compromised or they were out of range. Daniel wasn't sure which he preferred. Both had their risks and implications. They hadn't any idea what had happened to their friends.

They began their trek going vaguely north-east. The gate was east, and the cliffs were north. They knew that much. Soon, the forest opened to that wide, grassy plain, bounded on three sides by the wood and on the forth the rushing river. In the center stood the Stargate, lit up by the rising sun. Daniel took a breath as his eyes caught what they hadn't seen when they'd stepped out of the Stargate yesterday - the jagged, mesa-like cliffs that rose up over the wood and river roughly to their left. As he saw that warm, dusty rose color - so alien, yet faintly reminiscent of the Painted Hills he'd visited over and over to see the fossil beds - something strange rose inside of him. It was the same feeling he had whenever he had that realization of adventure (may it be on a new planet, or simply digging around in a fossil bed at home, or finding a new theory about a connection between two myths). It was something distinctly _Ballard_ that woke inside him. He may be a Jackson, but the mad brilliance of his grandfather, Nicholas, would never quite be lost in Daniel's genetics. Perhaps it was that Ballard side that was always getting him into trouble - wandering off and touching things out of curiosity and wonder.

Whatever the reason, all he knew was that he had the desire to scale the cliffs rather than read a book, to see for himself the uncertain wonders of this new planet and to grasp them with both hands by the throat and wrangle them into understanding. The Keeper, the Monster, the connection to the Ancients - this was a singular mystery like he hadn't seen since he was first discovering the Goa'uld and who the Ancients were. He found himself getting his feet on the path to the cliffs before he even had time to think about where he was going, or ask Sam what might be the best route, or to ponder what evil thing might be waiting for him in the forest.

He just had to know. He had to understand.

And he had to find Jack and Teal'c.

Sam caught up with him, looking over at her friend and seeing that faraway look in those blue eyes, the brim his hat and his glasses hiding what he might be thinking. "Daniel?" she called, frowning. Normally when he was like this he had a new theory.

When he didn't answer, she again called his name, and finally the Archaeologist looked at her and blinked. "I'm sorry, what?"

Sam gave him a patient smile. "We'll find them."

He looked down at the stony ground where they walked and nodded - the skin around his eyes tightened. "I know."

Sam gave him a knowing look. "But?" she prodded.

"It's not that," Daniel shook his head, "It's just that - I have this weird feeling that we're about to stumble across something that's- I don't know - so _vast _and _important._ Like I did when I thought up the theory about the pyramids being landing platforms for aliens."

They were entering the wood now, and it was dark. They had to squint to see the cliffs beneath the deep foliage. The faint cry of that hawk-like bird could be heard in the distance, chilling, a little ominous. Daniel began to look around, his gaze flitting from tree to tree - though there was that unnerving voice in the back of his mind that said that even if that monster was here he wouldn't be able to see it.

"I've been thinking," Daniel began again after some measure of silence had passed between them. "Grandfather would have to have been a real person."

This gave the airman-scientist pause for a moment and she nodded. "Yeah. Because he pushed out the Goa'uld."

Daniel frowned and nodded. "Right. But- if he's Ancient then he's probably ascended."

Sam nodded again, seeming to grasp where his theory was going about all of the myths surrounded the mystic figure. The Ancients had been just that - an ancient race that had built the Stargates and had been the most powerful beings for some time, until they discovered how to turn their bodies into pure energy - "ascending" -

"- Oh my god."

Daniel had stopped short in his path, staring at nothing in particular and blinking furiously. He pushed his glasses up his nose and it forced Sam to pause and looked at him quizzically.

He turned to Sam and then demanded, "What if he's Merlin?"

Sam also blinked and then shrugged. "It's - it's possible."

"It makes so much sense - Merlin was one of the few Ancients that ever interfered with any other cultures..."

"But that doesn't mean it's Merlin, Daniel."

"True," he sighed and folded his arms and continued walking - though he was still turning about that theory in his mind.

This theory was still fumbling about, bouncing around, and being turned inside out when a great shout erupted from a distance in the wood, followed like thunder by a roar and the sound of a weapon firing that sounded vaguely like a staff-weapon.

Sam looked at Daniel. "That's Teal'c," she murmured before breaking into a run through the trees, Daniel hot on her heels.

What they saw when they broke into a clearing and witnessed the source of the noise was not what they expected. Actually - that was an understatement. They never even would have thought in their wildest dreams that they'd see the creature battling with a woman with the curliest, blondest hair in the world and a gangly man wearing a bowtie. The latter figure was trying to grab onto the former's arm, tugging her away from the beast frantically.

"You can't kill it!"

"I can try!"

"We have to run!"

"Husband, shut up!"

Sam and Daniel didn't have time to even think before the pair was headed in their direction and bony fingers grasped theirs and dragged them along toward the cliffs, the creature hot on their heels.

"What were you doing just standing there?" was the shouted reprimand from the strange man.

Before either could reply he shook it off, running, muttering under his breath. "Beautiful planet, unkillable monster - ah! Someone _has_ been checking my Christmas list!"

He had a distinctly British accent and Daniel hadn't time to wonder if Britain had somehow gotten interplanetary travel as they tore through the foliage. A log came into view that formed a sort of shelter amidst some rocks and a sort of burrow, and before anybody in the party could protest, they were sliding down the mud, an earthy musk assaulting their senses. They'd managed to lose the invisible monster in the run, and they could hear it slithering then, pawing now, and roaring soon after as it tried to find its prey.

They were all breathing hard, trying not to make too much noise, until finally all was quiet and the woman with that mad hair was scrambling out from the press of bodies crammed into too small a space and making sure the coast was clear. At some signal, presently the man followed suit and he pulled Daniel and Sam out of the hole as well. Daniel dusted himself off and Sam stretched a bit, shaking out a few cramps before taking off her cap and running a hand through her hair.

"Don't tell me Britain has interplanetary travel," she breathed, eyeing the two strangers.

The man blinked and then laughed a bit, waving it off. "We're not British- though we've spent a lot of time in Britain. Good place, that is. So tell me, what are two humans doing wandering around Fembur at this time of day? Where'd you come from?" He paused and then said more gravely, "More importantly, when did you come from?"

"When?" Daniel stared at him, perplexed.

The woman walked forward, eyeing their weapons with what looked like a practiced eye. "You're from the 21st century, aren't you?"

Sam frowned and nodded. "Yeah."

Daniel stuck out his hand, "I'm Dr. Daniel Jackson, this is Major Sam Carter. I'm an archaeologist. We're exploring. Where are you from?"

The woman shot him a dazzling, demure smile and took his hand, shaking it firmly. "Ah! A man after my own heart! I'm Professor River Song, Archaeologist."

"And I'm the Doctor - a time traveler. I point and laugh at Archaeologists," the bow-tied man introduced himself bluntly with an aloof roll of his eyes.

"Well, do you have to be so rude?" River frowned at him.

"You're not from Britain?" Daniel clarified again. He couldn't fathom how they'd gotten the accents. Sam decided she wasn't even going to bother with asking the Doctor about the time-travel comment.

"No, technically I'm from Gallifrey. River is technically from England but she was born in space," the Doctor replied. "We're aliens."

He delivered this all with such cool, spastic casualness that Sam and Daniel had no choice but to believe him. Sam's eyes narrowed as she looked them up and down. "You look human."

"No, you look Time Lord," the man automatically corrected.

"We're from an ancient race that has- well- long since died out. We're the only ones left," River's voice had a softened, sad tremor to it, but she smiled nonetheless. "I wasn't aware that 21st century humans were capable of interplanetary travel."

"We use the Stargate," Sam replied.

"Ah!" A grin came over the Doctor's face. "Brilliant device, that is! Absolutely brilliant! River uses it every once in awhile - though she prefers her vortex manipulator. It works like a mini-Stargate."

Sam was immediately hooked when River showed her the device strapped to her arm. She immediately began asking all sorts of questions about how it worked, why it worked, and how it was made. All these Dr. Song patiently answered with a hint of amusement twinkling in her sea-green eyes.

While that happy conversation was going on, Daniel's mind had begun to digest the two new travelers. The first was the more attractive of the two, what with her mad hair and contagious smile that seemed to light up everyone in its vicinity. Her eyes seemed to shine as she explained why they were in Fembur - the archaeology she'd found - the creature. With a small twist in his chest he realized that she reminded him a great deal of what little he could remember of his mother. The second: the tall, gangly fellow, stood with his hands clasped behind his back, making interjections and comments every now and then and interrupting his companion much to her chagrin.

"Sam," Daniel called as he glanced back at the cliffs as his mind turned to more serious matters, "Do you think we can take that on the road?"

The scientist deflated slightly and gave a brief nod, remembering where she was and why she was there and what she was doing. "'course."

"What are we doing?" River asked, her tone flamboyant and curious.

Sam sighed. "That thing-whatever it was-" she paused and blinked, "It _really _needs a name! - attacked a village we were visiting. We lost two of our friends out here during it and the townspeople said we'd be able to find them if we got help from the-" she paused and glanced at Daniel for help.

"-Keeper. She said we could get help from her. She apparently was last seen by those cliffs, so that's where we're headed." Daniel pointed.

A grin spread over the Doctor's face. "Ah! A rescue! I love a good rescue, me!"

"We'll help you look, then, shall we?" was the answer from River as she strapped her vortex manipulator to her wrist.

Sam glanced at Daniel, and Daniel glanced at Sam, and then Daniel shrugged. "I don't see why not."

So, the group continued on, and Daniel didn't give much thought to his new companions - he was too busy discussing his finds in the catacombs with his fellow Archaeologist and listening to her enthusiastic expressions of her desire to visit them while the Doctor was seeming to refute some theory about physics that Sam was talking to him about. His mind was happily engaged, keeping him away from worrying about his friends even as they drew nearer to finding someone who could help them deal with the problem that the townspeople seemed to think they had created.

Little did Daniel know that he was walking among Legends.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: (feel free to skip my useless rambling) **Wow, I am so sorry I didn't update last week! Thank you guys for being patient in waiting for this chapter and so understanding. I'm afraid studying has caught up with me. However, the next chapter should be posted on time. Special kudos to Shire, redDaeth, Flight of Insanity, ironyheartsap, Evenmoor, and Denise3 who reviewed, you guys make my day! This new chapter is a little hectic because we'll finally be bringing everyone together. I hope you all enjoy it! I apologize for the stupid wait in between posts. Please read, relish, and don't forget to leave me a review on your way out.

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7

_"Everything is theoretically impossible until it is done." - Robert A. Heinlein_

Jack stared open mouthed at the young woman standing in front of him in the waving moor grass. She seemed to take no more notice of him after her small exclamation of surprise, catching up her skirts and walking toward the tree-line - as if she'd accomplished a small thing. There was a queer air she carried, however, in the way she glanced over her shoulder every-so-often. Jack looked at Teal'c and then ran to catch up with her.

"What did you just do?" he demanded to know when he was matching her pace stride for stride. If she could communicate with the alien - or worse - was its keeper, she could either be an enormous help or a huge threat.

"What the wall said to do," she replied cryptically. She clearly wasn't in the mood to talk. "Now hurry, hurry, _hurry up_." Her pace quickened, "Or go away."

"Now wait just one minute!" Jack exclaimed, stopping suddenly. She turned and folded her arms, her head cocking to the side in a strangely innocent, curious way. Jack continued, "That monster which you apparently can scare off might have two of my people, and if not, it's definitely a big, whopping threat to them! So, if you can help us to get rid of it, that would be just peachy, because I would like to know what the hell is going on!" His brown eyes glared at her and the young woman pursed her lips, glaring right back.

"Not yet. Not safe to talk out here. If you like you can join me and I'll tell you what I know."

Jack relaxed a little and looked relieved. "Thank you."

She continued on at a surprisingly quick pace for her somewhat diminutive size, and Jack looked at Teal'c, who had his constant stoic expression on. "I tell you, Teal'c," he muttered, "this mission is going to be the death of me." Wisely, Teal'c said nothing, he simply allowed the Colonel to simmer in silence as they walked.

When they reached the forest, the big Jaffa finally eased the quiet tension between them. "I did not recognize the language she was speaking, O'Neill. If she communicates with the creature, she may be a threat."

Jack squinted into the now darkening forest and adjusted the brim of his baseball cap. "Ever the optimist." He glanced at his friend and sighed, "She's probably our best hope of finding Sam and Daniel. We find them and then get our butts back to the Stargate and home."

Teal'c blinked, his chin lifting a little as his eyes turned to their lithe guide. He then asked, "Should we not attempt to help the natives, O'Neill?"

Annoyingly enough, this pricked the Colonel's conscience. He picked up a rock and tossed it into the underbrush, watching as it skittered out of sight. "I want to help them, I do. But I don't think we can and I'm not about to risk everyone's lives trying. It's not a Goa'uld invasion, it's just a big, indestructible, invisible..." he trailed off and gestured abstractly, "_thing_."

"Indeed," was the short and quiet reply, "But I believe it would be in our best interest to find a way to destroy it. We do not know when we will encounter it again."

Jack was waffling - uncertain. Part of him agreed with Teal'c, the other part reasoned that they couldn't kill something that could explode out of existence and then reappear somewhere else entirely in the same few seconds. He didn't want to endanger his team. Right now, he just wanted to get them home safe, away from this crazy, unknown, dangerous place.

The woman was leading them back towards the sheer edges of the rose-colored cliffs. They walked through the scruffy underbrush and the dusty, winding path, and she stopped in front of an outcropping and there came a sandy, grating sound. Part of the cliff rolled away into a square-shaped door, leading into a dusky interior. She beckoned to them, and Jack and Teal'c followed her inside.

It took a minute for their eyes to adjust away from the harsh sunlight of the planet, but once they did, Jack looked around in surprise. The room was bigger than he'd suspected - but it was, in fact, one room. There were a few tables with various, strange mechanical devices that he knew Carter would love to get her paws on and what looked like a sort of kitchen and a bed to his left. His eyes were drawn to the main feature - the smooth wall at the pack, engraved with petroglyphs of a peculiar sort. He remembered those - the very same that Daniel had looked at that were cut into the pedestal the Stargate rested on. The wall was covered with them, in ordered, page-like fashion like a ginormous stony book. Jack shook his head. If Daniel ever saw this place...

"Who are you?" was the demand, now from the left where the woman was making some sort of drink.

"I'm Jack, this is Teal'c," Jack introduced, "We're...travelers. We come in peace." Teal'c's eyebrow went up. Admittedly, Daniel was better at this.

"I'm Aeone, the Keeper," she said with a small smile.

Jack blinked and gave her a thumbs up. He had no idea what the Keeper was, but he hoped it was the good kind - not the bad kind... of whatever it was...

"How were you able to communicate with the creature?" Teal'c asked.

"The wall," she nodded toward it, "I've spent my life deciphering it," she then nodded toward a mess of notebooks and nibbed pens on the table near it. "It talks about the creature."

"Ah," Jack's eyebrows flew to the top of his head and he glanced at Teal'c. Teal'c turned, glancing out at the landscape through the open door. While Jack turned and began asking more questions, a sound came on the radio.

"_Teal'c? Jack? Please respond." _It was Daniel.

"O'Neill!"

Jack turned and walked over. "I heard it!" He reached for his radio. "Sam, Daniel? Do you read me?"

"_Jack! Loud and clear. Where are you?"_

Jack smiled as he heard Daniel's voice. "We're up on the reddish cliffs. There's a small trail up the north side, if you follow it it should take you right to us. Be careful. I think that alien is still around."

"_On our way. There's someone we'd like you to meet."_

Jack glanced at Aeone, who had introduced herself to him moments before. "Yeah, us too."

Words could not describe the relief that washed over him as he realized that the other half of his team would be here soon, and they could all get home safely.

* * *

When Sam and Daniel found them, they both knew that Jack and Teal'c were in for a surprise. They weren't expecting, however, to be led into a cave covered in the ancient symbols Daniel was so fascinated by. River and the Doctor looked surprised as well - shocked even, but before they had time to react, a young woman slid around the side of one wall and into the room, eyeing the newcomers strangely.

Daniel gave her a little wave and Jack cleared his throat. "Kids, this is Aeone. Calls herself the 'keeper,' whatever the hell that means."

Daniel started, turning towards Aoene openmouthed. "You're the Keeper?" He had been expecting a wizened old woman, not this diminutive, almost pretty, very-strange looking young woman. She stared at him with wide, green eyes.

"I've been the Keeper for a very long time," she said quietly, nodding.

Daniel took a breath and pinched the bridge of his nose. Two birds with one stone, they say. "Well," he began, gestured to their newfound friends, "Jack, Teal'c, this is Dr. River Song - she's a doctor of Archaeology, like me - and the Doctor. They actually saved us from the alien."

"Oh, well, if you call waving things at it and pulling you down a rabbit hole saving..." River blew it off with a chuckle.

Jack turned on the two with new interest, folding his hands behind his back and bouncing lightly on the balls of his feet. "Doctor, you say?" he cut a glance between the two of them and then looked directly at the Doctor, "Doctor Who?"

The question gave Daniel and Sam paused. In the midst of their excitement - Daniel's with finding a fellow Archaelogist and Sam's with finding two people who could actually understand her science, the two of them had never thought to ask the Doctor's name. All eyes turned expectantly to the slim, tall, bow-tied man with the old eyes and his companion. The Doctor seemed to be floundering for an answer.

"Well - I-"

"His true name is hidden like all other true names," came the reply from Aeone. Now it was her turn to have the group's scrutiny. She continued, looking at the Doctor with a small smile. "That is how it is, but he is old, older than deep heaven, and so we call him Grandfather."

Suddenly, everything clicked. Daniel wondered why he hadn't realized it before. The Doctor - a nameless being who had appeared out of nowhere, and old race, and the woman - River - the River. She said she was an Archaeologist.

_A studier of lost things._

The Doctor was staring, openmouthed at the young woman who stared right back at him. He fell a step or two back, his eyes widened, forehead crinkled in a strange, alien kind of shock. "How...?" he whispered, "How could you possibly know that name?"

River's hand reached for his arm, steadying him, and she looked at him, confused. She had never heard of this alias of his before. She hadn't said anything, but he held up a finger to quiet her nonetheless and continued his perturbed gaze at Aeone.

Her head cocking to the side, her eyes narrowing, she took a step forward, and SG-1 watched, utterly confused as she imitated his accent for no apparent reason. "A Grandfather without grandchildren, because his world's burned away, so now he travels with his River in a blue box in the sky, because Gallifrey burned."

"Stop it!" the Doctor snapped, turning away from her, but even as he turned, the wall still stared him in the face - and he knew those symbols. The recognition was written all over his face. There was no escaping it. No escaping the cries in his head, the guilt, and the longing of the familiar, beautiful, lyrical language written in poetry before his eyes, etched on one of the most universal of permanent surfaces - stone.

Daniel was utterly fascinated. "You're Grandfather!" he exclaimed, not a question.

The man's adam's apple bobbed thickly up and down and he turned half towards the group. "I was. I _was _a Grandfather. I'm not anymore."

Daniel shook his head. "A whole nation calls you by name! It's they're mythology, they're beliefs, they've survived this long because of you!" He gasped and turned to River, who had placed her hand on the Doctor's shoulder, her eyes holding a pained empathy for him that no one except them in the room really understood. "Of course!" Daniel went on, "They said the River was a studier of lost things, like me." He shook his head, "I don't believe it. Daebla said you would come, they said they would wait for you, and you came."

"You would have to be so old, though," Sam breathed in wonder, "Thousands of years old to make it into a world's mythology." She knew that much.

"I am old," the Doctor murmured, "I am so very old."

"Older than deep heaven -"

"Yes-!" he huffed, "I got that part!"

"I'm not," River said shortly, "And neither of us remember this planet - which means this is our future." A small smirk slicked across her face at that statement.

"But that would mean time-travel. Time-travel is scientifically impossible, I mean, we've done it once, using the gate - but we didn't travel thousands of years back in time!" Sam frowned.

The Doctor suddenly clapped, bounced on the balls of his feet, and turned - startling everyone. A cheeky smile was back on his face. "But see, there's where you're wrong. Time travel is very, very _possible_." He began to run down a list, walking toward her as he did so, "You see, you've got a Stargate there that runs with wormhole technology, two people - us - we just drop out of the sky, you've got a creature out there that seems to be made of mist that no-one can kill, and a mythology based on things that haven't happened yet." He stopped right in front of Sam and grinned, "So it would seem, Sam, that the time has come to believe in impossible things."


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: ****(feel free to skip my useless rambling) **And we're back with a new chapter! It's been a fairly easy week, and I hope this chapter isn't too boring. It's mostly the gang getting to know one another. I did look up how to read Gallifreyan for the purpose of this fic, and if I got it wrong, I profusely apologize - but know that I didn't just pull this out of my butt ;) I'm surprised that there were no reviews last week! I hope I'm not boring all of you to death and I do hope people are still liking this fic. If you guys have any suggestions for how to improve it, please, please tell me! I want to make sure you guys are enjoying this. Well, anyway. Here's the next chapter, I hope you guys enjoy it, and don't forget to leave a review on your way out! I'll see you all next week!

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**8**

_"Do you really want to know where we come from?" she said. "In every century, in every country, they'll call us something different. They'll say we're ghosts, angels, demons, elemental spirits, and giving us a name doesn't help anybody. When did a name change what someone is?" - Brenna Yovanoff_

Soon, the sun began to set, igniting the cliffs of Ydenia into an array of tangerines, scarlets, and burnt umbers. Below them, the light set the River on fire and turned the verdant treetops to a warm, golden green. Within the dark stone cave of the Keeper, candles were being lit.

Daniel stood by the expanse of smoothed, polished stone at the back of the room. His fingertips whispered over the circles and petroglyphs in wonder, his other hand busy copying them down into his notebook. They were meaningless to him, and he'd yet to even begin to establish how the system worked - whether the symbols represented words, sounds, or even entire phrases (that would be a possibility - but it must have taken ages to carve these out). Some were different in a way that suggested a different individual's handwriting.

"It takes quite a while to learn," came the throaty, smoky voice from behind him.

Daniel was sucked back into the present world, out of the past, and he became aware of the conversation behind him that he'd tuned out ages ago - it had to do with time travel and physics. He turned from his perplexed study and nodded to River who was standing a little behind him. Her arms were folded and that half-smile that never seemed to go away was on her face. She took a step forward, her blue eyes drinking in each symbol with something akin to fondness.

"You can read this?" Daniel asked, gesturing to the wall.

River nodded briefly. "I can, yes." She laughed a little, shaking her head with a small gasp of wonder as her gaze came to a specific portion of the text. Her fingers brushed over it. "This is my handwriting." She pointed to another section. "This is the Doctor's."

Daniel frowned, glancing quickly between the markings and River. "That's impossible."

"We're believing the impossible now, weren't you listening?" she teased.

"Not really," he admitted, looking back at the wall. "How do you read it?"

That inexplicable feeling was back - the one that made him want to understand - it wasn't a _knowing_ he longed for - just an understanding, to take the shroud away from this ancient text and decipher it and gain its mystery.

River cocked her head and then began to explain it slowly. "Within each of the larger circles is a word - and sentences are formed by placing words grouped into even larger circles, you read them counter-clockwise, starting from the bottom of the circle." She then gestured to the small circles and half-circles within. "These are letters. You start from the bottom and work your way up, counter-clockwise as well. The vowels are either attached to preceding consonants or float on their own."

Daniel blinked, surprised. "Oh. So- it's like a combination of letters that form sounds and letters that form phrases or whole words."

She shrugged, laughing. "I suppose you're right. This is the latest form of Gallifreyan - the earliest - Old High Gallifreyan, has long gone out of use. Modern Gallifreyan looks a little like Arabic."

"So what's this called?" he gestured to the circles.

"Can't you guess?" She smirked a little. "Circular Gallifreyan."

Daniel chuckled, copying the name down. "Of course. What else?"

They continued talking for a little while, River helping him translate sentences and piece together the narrative. The first third of the wall seemed to be mythology completely about the Doctor - discussing his box he traveled in, the River he'd fallen in love with, and how the Silence threatened to destroy Grandfather, but the River would help him overcome it. They continued on translating right through the story about the Goa'uld attacking the planet, and finally onto a prophecy- and it was there Daniel paused.

"I suppose this really isn't a prophecy at all."

River frowned at it. "No, it's just a very big list of Spoilers."

"What?"

"Nevermind. It talks here about the demon - which I assume is that unkillable creature..." she trailed off. "Oh. _Oh." _

Daniel was more than a little frustrated that he couldn't read the Gallifreyan the way River could, because he was completely in the dark about why she seemed to become more and more excited the more she read.

"Doctor!"

The Doctor stood and rushed over, rubbing his hands together and then squinting at the wall. River pointed to a certain section and his eyes widened, and he too ran a hand through his hair and whispered: "_Oh."_

"Care to share with the class?" Jack called from the table where he had his feet propped up and he was tossing a bouncy-ball.

"That alien out there is from Gallifrey," the Doctor breathed quietly, looking back at River with wide eyes. "Even the Time Lords didn't know a lot about it." He turned and leaned against the wall, his brow furrowing. "It must have escaped the planet before the Time War..." he trailed off, thinking. This was a creature of Old Gallifreyan legend - a monster that hid under the bed and in the closet. The one that no-one could kill. The alien that had no form. It wasn't _anything _but darkness and void and...

"It's made of particles, it has the ability to disassemble and reassemble itself at the atomic level - it's as natural to it as breathing is to us," he whispered.

Sam's mouth dropped open and she glanced quickly between River and the Doctor. "That's not-"

"Oh, but it is," River interrupted. "And it's out there."

"I didn't think they actually _existed."_ The Doctor was still completely flabbergasted.

"Do you know how it can be defeated?" Teal'c asked quietly from where he stood, watching the two strangers.

"That's just it," River replied, running a hand through her hair. "The Time Lords were never able to. Nobody ever got close enough to try. All they know is that it's psychic - like Time Lords, that's the only way it's powerful enough to control its own atoms."

"Hold on. Are you talking about _telepathy?" _Sam blinked, "That's... something out of science fiction..."

"Says the woman who blew up a sun," Jack deadpanned.

Sam cut him a sharp look, rolling her eyes, and River merely nodded to them. "Yes, the Doctor and I both are touch-telepathic, we have to have skin-to-skin contact to be able to communicate telepathically."

Sam took a breath, taking a moment to digest that. She didn't even know where to begin to ask questions and figure out what that meant about the rest of the Universe. "Okay."

River turned and went to rummage in her bag and Jack leaned back in his chair. "Alright, team, when it gets light we're heading home."

Daniel spluttered. "We can't just leave!"

"Colonel, these people need our help."

Jack sat up. "Yes, but apparently this alien is indestructible and I'm not sending you all on a suicide mission," he replied back to make an end of it.

The team quieted back down (well, Teal'c was always quiet), and Daniel went to go sulk back over by the wall and Sam began picking apart the round wrist-watch thingy River had given her to play with. The Doctor crossed his hands behind his back and began to pace.

Soon, Daniel leaned against the wall and closed his eyes, and Jack pulled his cap over his face and tried to get in some sleep as well while Sam continued working on the vortex manipulator and River slowly dozed off on her notebooks and gadgets next to her.

When the Doctor realized she was asleep, he walked over and smiled fondly, taking her hair out of her eyes and then gently lifting the notebook away that she was using as a pillow and moving some of the more pokey bits of the device out of the way. He slipped off his tweed and wrapped it around her shoulders with a chaste kiss to the top of her head.

Teal'c was standing just outside the door thanks to his lack of need for sleep, leaning on his staff weapon. Sam kept one candle burning while she worked, marveling at the intricate structure of such a small device. It was more complex than any computer she'd ever worked with, and she was soon completely focused on drawing a schematic and trying to find where it stored its power.

The Doctor continued to pace, annoyed by the fact that he didn't have a console to work on. There were no interesting books to leaf through except for River's journal - and as tempting as that was, he knew it wasn't an option. He wasn't sure if he ought to read the wall - he didn't know what spoilers were on it. So, he continued to pace boredly into the night until the stoic, deep voice from behind him asked him a question.

"Do you not require sleep?"

This drew both the Doctor and Sam out of their thoughts, and Sam's gaze turned to the Doctor curiously, waiting for his answer. "I don't," the Doctor replied, giving him a small smile and shrugging a little.

"What about River?" Sam frowned. Maybe it had something to do with the male and the female of his species?

"She's part human, therefore she needs more sleep than me," the Doctor replied. Sam was surprised by that fact, but shrugged a little and nodded. She wondered if the two were together or just really good friends. Something told her that it was the former. Perhaps it was in the way that the Doctor's eyes softened whenever he glanced over at his sleeping companion, or how he'd occasionally brush aside that errant curl from her face. Sam swallowed a little and turned her eyes back to her task.

She continued to work until, slowly, even Sam's eyelids felt heavy and she dozed off over her work.

* * *

When Daniel woke that morning, it was a lot later than he'd intended. Jack was just stirring at the table, and through his blurry vision he realized that the room felt a little empty. He readjusted his now bent-out-of-shape glasses and sat up, running a hand through his hair and looking around. He squinted and yawned and it registered in his mind that Aeone was curled on a cot on the other side of the room and the room was missing Sam and River.

He figured they were out discussing devices and physics and stretched, standing and rummaging in his pockets for an energy bar. He fished it out and peeled away the wrapper, taking a bite and then opening his notebook and looking through it. Teal'c was employing the early morning hours with Kel-no-reem.

It was relatively peaceful and quiet, a good sort of morning, and Daniel realized happily that River had written him a key for reading the Circular Gallifreyan the night before. He stood and continued munching on the energy bar while he practiced translating a phrase.

The silence was broken by the roar of the alien and several rounds of gunfire.

Jack startled awake, grabbing for his gun, the Doctor - whom Daniel hadn't noticed before, leapt into action and ran out the door after Teal'c.

They burst into the small, dusty clearing right in front of the cave. The Doctor spluttered as he looked around frantically.

"River said they'd stay right here!"

"You let them come out here by themselves?" Jack snapped, eyes wide as he gripped his gun, pointing it into the treeline and looking around.

"Oh, well excuse me for thinking that two trained soldiers could have some time to themselves just right outside the door!" the Doctor snapped back.

"I thought she said she was an archaeologist." Daniel frowned.

The Doctor didn't reply to that, he merely continued looking frantically around for his wife, because right now all he could think about that was that River was gone, that she wasn't safe, that she wasn't here where he could see her.

"O'Neill!" Teal'c had been the sensible one and was following the tracks. He pointed to the ground near the trees and all three ran over to see what he was pointing at.

Jack stopped and stood stock-still when he saw it, swallowing and taking off his cap and running his hand through his short hair.

_No, no, no._

There was a thick, dark trail of blood on the ground, and they couldn't be sure if it was River's or Sam's.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: (Feel free to skip my useless rambling) **Hello! And welcome back for a new chapter! I have to say that this may be my favorite chapter that I've written so far, merely for the interaction between all the characters. It was really fun to watch everything simmer and come to a head. Well, anyway. General housekeeping: Special kudos to Angelasg1 and MiguelCC51 for reviewing - those are always read, well loved, and much appreciated! You guys make my day. I can't believe Summer is almost here! I'm kind of freaking out because I'll be a senior... good grief! I'm getting old! ANYWAY, enough rambling. Sit down, enjoy this chapter with your choice of hot beverage (or if it's hot where you are, you know, a cold one), and have a cookie, any cookie you want. Don't forget to leave me a review on your way out, they're like candy and little fluffy adipose babies (because adipose babies make me smile). See you all next week!

* * *

9

"_I do like men who come out frankly and admit that they are not gods." _-_ Louisa May Alcott_

Jack was frightened. No, he was more than frightened. He was _terrified._ His heart was in his mouth and it was pounding away like a jackhammer that had been left running by the side of the road, drilling into his chest and causing it to clutch and flutter. He couldn't help it. This was Sam they were talking about. She was gone, held in the grasp of an unkillable, invincible spirit. That could be her trail of blood on the ground. A trail that trickled - thick, dark dew drops falling from leaves and splattering to the ground and pooling in the center of a large, clawed track.

She had to still be alive. He wouldn't forgive himself if she wasn't.

The Doctor, on the other side of him, was having similar thoughts. The gravity of the situation was slowly sinking down on him. The creature had taken his River - River Song - the powerful, invincible, impossible woman that could shoot a Silent dead without a second glance, who could make a Dalek beg for mercy, who could bring him, the Doctor, to his knees. His left heart shuddered, his right heart was pained. He wrung his hands, standing there, staring at the blood and silently begging it not to be his wife's. He pulled out his sonic and the faint whirr resounded for a few seconds while he scanned it.

Fate apparently wasn't smiling on him today - as if that wasn't already obvious, because it was River's. He fell a step back and looked around, letting out a small breath and blinking.

"God, no."

The three other men turned to him, shocked out of their own thoughts by his quiet exclamation.

He looked up at them, catching first the young Archaelogist's eyes, then the Jaffa's, then the Colonel's. He swallowed. "That's River's blood," he whispered.

Jack had to bite back a sigh at the relief that flooded through him. Daniel, on the other hand, bit his lip and pushed his glasses further up his nose. "We'll find them both." Ever the diplomat, ever the caring one.

He then glanced around at his friends and asked, "Why didn't either of them call for help? Sam would've called for backup."

Jack knew that was true. He merely glared into the treeline. "Maybe she couldn't."

Daniel nodded slowly while Jack's emotions were threatening to overthrow him. He took off his cap and quietly, violently tossed it to the ground. It hit the dust with a dull smack, and he gave it an angry kick.

So much for this being an easy get-in-get-out mission. So much for keeping his team safe.

"Why did you let them go out here in the first place?" Jack whirled on the Doctor.

He looked surprised - rightly so- at the sudden outburst and held up his hands in defense. "River is a trained assassin, I thought they would be fine!"

"No-" Jack held up a finger, "Obviously you didn't think!"

The Time Lord flushed a shade of pink and reached up to straighten his bowtie. "Now, you listen to me-" though Jack had no intention of listening to anyone at this point. He was already stalking off toward the underbrush. "Oh, don't be stupid!" the Doctor called after him, "What makes you think you can just hunt down the alien and shoot it? What is it with you humans and guns?" The Doctor was frustrated. It wouldn't do to have another one of these humans wandering off and getting attacked - or worse, and right now they were his responsibility because he was the only one in this group that knew anything about the creature that had taken his wife and their friend.

"Daniel! Teal'c! C'mon!" Jack called over his shoulder as he followed the tracks.

Teal'c made no move to follow, Daniel looked torn. He knew Jack was operating on fear and anger right now, but he didn't want him to get himself killed...

"Oh! That's what you think is going to solve this? Well let me tell you, you have no idea what you're up against and you can't possibly fight it! We all need to sit down and think rationally or we are going to get both Sam and River killed!"

At that, Jack whirled to face him, stalking straight back to this new, annoying, pompous man who thought he knew absolutely everything about everything. "Last I checked, you admitted you couldn't stop it either. So what makes you think you can sort through this yourself?" he snapped.

"Because I am clever," Eleven ground out, "And I'm far more powerful than you think I am." There was his nasty pride kicking in. His anger caused his voice to drop, his eyes to smolder.

"Oh really?" Jack rolled his eyes and threw his hands up in the air. "You know, I am getting real tired of aliens who think they're gods."

Something in the Time Lord broke and he turned away, stomping back and then beginning to pace, his voice dangerously quiet, making even Teal'c- formidable as he was - look at him. "Pay very close attention, because I'm the one talking here-"

"- and I'm not listening!" Jack snapped back.

Two leaders coming to a head...Daniel bit his lip and sighed, "-Jack-"

"-River is the last thing in this Universe that matters to me!" Eleven shouted suddenly, interrupting him and turning on his heel to face the three others. "And god or not," he walked right back toward Jack with slow, deliberate steps, "I have lost things that you could never understand, and by all the powers that have been and ever will be I will not let her die because you decide to recklessly go after a demon. This is not something you can just shoot like a Dalek, or another alien... this is... something far beyond you and I, Jack, and you need me."

The two stared at each other, as if they could stare the other down, neither wanting to be the one to look away, and Jack's jaw clenched as he looked into those old/young eyes.

Daniel, ever the voice of reason, chose his words wisely. "He's right, Jack, we need to stop and think about this for a minute. We don't know where it took them."

"Perhaps we should ask the Keeper if she knows," Teal'c said, his presence a calm, solid suggestion by Jack's side.

The situation cooled and Jack and the Doctor both took a step back, an icy pall hanging between them as they avoided the other's gaze. Jack took a deep breath and slowly nodded. "Alright, let's go ask Aeone."

The group moved back to the cavern and looked around, seeing Aeone seated calmly at the table among River's books and the bits of the vortex manipulator like nothing had happened. The Doctor swallowed and walked over, picking up River's pack and carefully sweeping the items inside in a rather haphazard manner. Though, Daniel noticed he took special care of the blue journal, his fingertips whispering lovingly over the cover as he slipped it in a specific pocket at the front of her pack. He set her things in a corner as Jack pulled up a chair, turned it around, and sat astride it. He then leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table.

"We need to know everything you can tell us about that alien, and where it might've taken our friends," he ground out, making a visible effort to keep himself calm as his brown eyes fixed on her.

The Doctor turned and stood next to him, folding his hands behind his back as Teal'c took up sentry by the door as usual and Daniel sat at the head of the table between Aeone and Jack. His voice was much gentler. "Anything you know, please tell us."

She frowned at the two of them, looking mildly confused. "I don't know what I know."

Daniel slipped off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Anything that you know, please."

She continued to ramble, suddenly incoherent - now of all times - "I don't know what I know, I don't know what I know. I can't remember. You told me a long time ago-" she looked up at the Doctor and he blinked at her in surprise, "-so very long ago, and it's written on the wall somewhere but I can't remember."

"Yeah, well, try," Jack said, his tone dry and impatient.

The room was silent as they waited for the Keeper to dredge up information from the depths of her thoughts as she looked around, eyes darting over the circular Gallifreyan on the rough, red stone wall. Minutes passed away and slowly each member of the group grew more restless. Jack first, then the Doctor, finally Daniel. Teal'c was their anchor.

Finally, a little gasp bubbled up from her throat and she stood, a look of recognition in her eyes. "Oh! I know what I know!"

"What is it?" Daniel nearly stood with her.

She looked at the Doctor and then opened her mouth, speaking as if reciting:

"_Beware the Jabberwock, my son,_

_the jaws that bite, the claws that scratch_

_Beware the Jujub Bird,_

_And the furious Bandersnatch." _

Jack threw his hands up in the air and huffed. "This isn't helping."

Daniel stared at her, open mouthed. "That's the Jabberwocky Poem, by Lewis Carroll..." he trailed off, "How do you know that?"

The Doctor shook his head and shrugged. "I must have told her. Sometime in the future - her past."

Daniel blinked. "I think I'm getting a headache."

"How she knows it is not important," the Doctor said quickly, clapping his hands. "It's not the how, it's the why." He quickly turned to Aeone, "Why would I tell you that? What is so very important about that verse of that particular poem...?"

"Can we forget about the poem and concentrate on what's really important right now?" Jack snapped in annoyance, cutting a glance between the two of them.

Daniel sighed and rubbed at his temples. "Right, Aeone, do you know where it might have taken our friends?"

Aeone stood and began to pace, murmuring to herself before answering. "No."

Jack gave Daniel an 'I told you so' look and gestured to the door. "I guess we're following the tracks, then. Let's go."

Teal'c was already starting out the door, Jack hot on his heels. Daniel glanced over his shoulder to the Doctor who was picking up River's things and slinging them over his shoulder. He then started after the group, and Daniel walked with him. Teal'c and Jack did all the tracking ahead of them as they walked. Daniel stayed silent, sensing the Time Lord's pensive thoughts and worry and thinking that it might be best to leave him be.

Daniel had been surprised by the Doctor's sudden outburst earlier. From what he'd seen of the alien he was normally calm, a little scattered, but pleasant. During his argument with Jack he'd seemed... well... old. It was then that he thought to ask a probably idiotic question. "How old are you?"

The Doctor was shaken out of his thoughts. He looked up at the Archaeologist and gave him a tight smile. "A little over a thousand."

Daniel paused, letting that sink in. "How... is that possible?"

Soon, the Doctor was explaining regeneration to him, and the fact that Time Lords didn't age the same way humans did. It calmed him. It took his mind off of the fact that his wife was somewhere in this forest, definitely hurt, probably frightened, and probably wondering where he was and if he was coming for her.

He always would. He always came for her.

He let out a sharp breath once the explanation was over and looked at Daniel. "To be honest, I don't know why the natives here think I'm a god... I'm not. I'm not even a hero." He bit his lip and shrugged. "Just a mad man with a box, off to see the Universe. This is too big for me. Yes, I'm clever... but if my own people couldn't figure out what this creature is... how can I?"

Daniel chuckled a little, smiling. "Yeah, and I'm just a silly archaeologist from America, the laughing stock of the academic community." He stopped, pushing his glasses up his nose, his voice a bit gentler than normal. "Sometimes... sometimes the strangest people get the best of opportunities because nobody else ever dreamed those things were even possible," his smile widened, "And you don't have to be a god to fight other gods and demons. I would know, I've been fighting them for years."

"Ah, the Goa'uld?"

Daniel nodded.

"Pitiful creatures."

He couldn't help but laugh at that flippant, disdainful statement. "Well, if you think that the Goa'uld are pitiful... what are we? Pathetic?"

The Time Lord stopped and shook his head, smiling a little. "No. Human Beings... you're the most resilient, hopeful, loyal race I've ever met. You're brilliant, you are."

There was a sincerity in his voice that caught Daniel a bit off-guard. He couldn't help but feel a little humbled, and somehow a 'thank you' for a compliment on one's own species just didn't cut it. So he merely accepted the comment. It was then that he noticed that Teal'c and Jack had stopped.

"What are you seeing?" he asked them, looking around. To his untrained eyes, the forest looked like - well, a forest.

Teal'c turned to him. "The tracks appear to be heading East. As does the trail of blood."

Daniel sucked in a breath and nodded. "Okay."

Somewhere, somewhere very far from the Stargate and very far from anywhere, really, amidst the deep, thick underbrush of the forest that the River meandered into, Sam and River were being carried away from them - and they were going to get them back. They had to.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: (feel free to skip my useless rambling) **I know, it's nearly half a week late and I apologize. My life is super crazy and hectic right now, but I know that you all are wonderful and incredibly patient and I wanted to get this up for you as soon as humanly possible. So here it is! As general housekeeping: kudos to admiraljoshar and SSG Michael B Jackson for being amazing and taking the time to review! It's much appreciated. Alright, well, I must warn you guys that there's serious River whump in this chapter, so there, I threw that out there. Nevertheless, it was a challenge to write (I'm not that good at actiony stuff) but a lot of fun (because I love River whump). So I hope you guys enjoy this as much as I did. Sit down, have a cookie and a hot drink, and please read and enjoy! Don't forget to leave me a review on your way out (or sick rabid Oods on me for this being late). (Hopefully) see you all next week!

* * *

10

"_Power resides only where men believe it resides. [...] A shadow on the wall, yet shadows can kill." - George RR Martin_

The cry of an owl boomed through the darkened forest. Night had fallen, clouds had rolled in to bed the three moons in a misty, blueish shroud. Incidentally, the first sound River heard as she slowly came to was the rippling of water that sounded like it was not far off. Her mind was fogged, and she felt agitated, nervous - afraid. Inherently unsafe.

_Claws forming out of nowhere. Her feet knocked out from under her. She was scrambling for her own gun but it wasn't within reach. Pain, searing, sudden, unbearable, ripping through her core. Dragged out of the underbrush, an animalistic sound rent from her throat that was silenced, hanging in the air like an unfinished crescendo to a brutal melody that tasted of terror and caustic surprise. _

She slowly managed to push herself into a semi-upright position, supporting herself on her elbows. Hissing at the sudden stab of pain, she looked over and relief washed over her to find that she wasn't completely alone. Sam was crouched not far away, looking a little bruised but otherwise unharmed.

River looked around, surveying the area. There wasn't much of an area to survey. They seemed to be in some kind of hole. The ground was raked near the entrance where they must've slipped down last night, and she vaguely remembered falling into it. River tried to move, biting back a gasp that drew Sam's attention in the darkness. The blonde crawled over, seeming to flinch a little and favor her left ankle as she switched on her torch and pointed it in River's direction. She'd lost her cap.

"You're awake."

"We need to get out of here," River said, biting her lip. "It's nothing better than a trap." She tried to sit up again and searing pain engulfed her senses, momentarily whiting out her vision. When it cleared, she slowly looked down to see Sam's jacket wrapped around her abdomen, darkly stained with blood.

"There's no way either of us are going anywhere," Sam said, shaking her head and collapsing back down beside River in the dust.

River hushed her. "No, we have to get out. It likes to play games, and it'll find us." She winced. "Now, be a dear and prop me up." Sam frowned and obeyed, sitting behind the older woman and letting her lean against her chest as River reached into her breast pocket and pulled out a needle and suture. "I'll just patch myself up and we'll be on our way." Ripping the package with her teeth, she then gave Sam a weak grin. "I'm a doctor, after all."

"Of archaeology." The Scientist was unamused.

River rolled her eyes. "Darling-" she huffed impatiently before frowning as the cut was revealed. It wasn't horrible, but it could turn nasty if it got infected and any more trauma and she could have very easily lost her insides. She took a deep breath through her nose. "That's going to leave a scar..." she threaded the needle, "only fun if you get a scar out of it, I always say!"

Her breathing became more shallow and she steeled herself for the pain. Sam had to cringe as River inserted the needle and pulled, a breathy, choked gasp bubbling from her throat without her consent. Sam decided to try and take her mind off of the pain and asked, "What did the Time Lords call the alien?"

River's chuckle was tight, like a string stretched to it's limit. "They never did find a name for it because they couldn't figure out what it wa-" needle in, tug, stifled whimper, "w-what it was. Sorry. They named things for what they were. They couldn't name it without that knowledge," she finished with some difficulty, now halfway across the wound.

She wished the Doctor was here. She wished it was his back she was tucked against, his arms around her, whispering gentle encouragement and apologies in her ear while his clever fingers fixed her - made it all better. But River couldn't have that now. He was miles away and she was alone with Sam with the taste of dried pain and fear in her mouth and she had to get through and make do without him.

The ground shook.

A terrifying swell, billowing out and loosening the dirt at their feet.

A ghastly rumble curling through the wood of the fallen tree above them.

River felt Sam freeze behind her and her fingers halted their work, trembling as she reached for the cold metal of her gun - but that reassuring press against her waist wasn't there, and she felt her left heart begin to race ahead of her right, and the other heart hitch, trapping her breath in her chest at the first sickening footfall.

Get out. Get _out_. _Get out!_

She snapped into action, working with shaking hands, stitching herself up as quickly as she could before snapping the suture and casting the needle aside. Adrenaline flooded her system. River grabbed Sam's hand and whispered, "Run!"

They scrambled out of the hole. Sam's heart was pounding as she limped along through the forest. They hardly knew the direction as they ran. It was pitch black except for the few places where the hollow moonlight broke through the canopy of leaves above them. River's breath was coming in short, sharp, painful gasps as she forced herself to keep up with the limping Scientist. They could hear the disappointed roar of the creature behind them, bounding after them, almost breathing down their necks. River was crying. She couldn't help it. Everything was too painful and too disorienting and too frightening and yet somehow she managed to keep going, led only by Sam's hand.

Her feet pounded along through the underbrush, running, winding through the trees, seeking somewhere safe. But there was nowhere safe - how could there be when the one chasing you could reform itself into literally anything, down to the tiniest, most infinitesimal particle and no gun, no weapon devised by any Lord of Time could stop it?

The pain was a sharp flaring fire low in the pit of her stomach, slowly smoldering up to her chest, stealing away her breath and strength. River wasn't sure how much longer she could keep going like this. The sound of the river was close by, rushing in her ears even as the roaring behind them got louder.

And then suddenly she couldn't go any farther. Her legs buckled and she fell. Sam kept plunging along until she realized River wasn't behind her. She skidded to a sharp stop and turned to take her friend's hand, trying to haul her up to her feet, but somehow River just couldn't get herself to move.

It was getting closer. Hunting for them behind every tree. No help was in sight and Sam had to go or both of them would probably end up dead.

"River, c'mon!" Sam begged, frantic as she gripped River's upper arm and tugged.

Guilt and raw fear was pulsing through River's body as she struggled to even breathe. "Go!" The pain was too much, surrounding her in the darkness, choking her and keeping her from pushing herself up from the musky, spongy layer of wet leaves. She could see a whisper of a shadow behind them, moving along with the suggestion of a pounce. Glittering empty eyes and a mouthful of fang-like teeth -

With her last bit of adrenaline she shoved Sam to the left and threw herself to the right.

River had seen the hill. That's why she pushed Sam that way. The blonde scientist had no choice as she tumbled and slid, bushes scratching her arms as if they had claws, her mouth filling with loam. She then bumped to a stop as her foot reached the water with liquid shock and a soft splash. All she could think about was that no one was to be left behind and that was exactly what she was doing, without choice. But River wanted her to run, and so she shoved that thought aside, knowing she had to somehow find Jack and the Doctor if they were to have any chance at all. River was buying her time to do that. So Sam got up and limped along as fast as she could go through the night, the riverbank as her guide.

River struggled to steady her breathing. Sam had better be running for her life or when River saw her again she'd shoot both of Sam's legs with her own gun. The cut in River's stomach was throbbing with screaming pain that she couldn't ignore. She'd probably ripped stitches. River bit her lip, drawing a salty bead of blood as she fought to keep silent, shaking hands grabbing fistfuls of her shredded trousers.

She could hear the creature rooting around, snuffling to hunt her out. Her spine prickled and she had a distinct _awareness_ of it just behind the tree she was resting against. Her eyes closed and she pressed lower into the dirt and the press of the rough bark at her back.

A footfall

Another.

The sound of something whistling through the air, her eyes jerked open when she heard the scraping of it on the bark. To her right, the tail was creeping around the trunk like a hideous, nightmare of a snake. She scooted forward, holding her breath as it slithered along behind her.

A clawed foot stepped to her left, and she stifled a yelp, fighting the urge to get up and try to run. To move now could be fatal.

Her eyes darted around for some way of escape. The only way she could see was forward - to the left or to the right and she'd be seen.

Yet left was the only option when the tail touched her arm.

Both her breathing and that of the creature's hitched.

The tail swung. A deafening screech ripped through the night air like a knife. River let out a pained cry as she forced herself to roll to her left. The tail slammed into the ground with a lethal thunk. She scrambled forward as the creature rounded the tree. Sheer, prickled pain wrapped around her ankles and she gasped when the ground disappeared from under her.

It hoisted her into the air like an angry crane. Her stomach leapt into her throat at the sudden movement. And then she faced it.

The mysterious enemy of the Time Lords stared her in the face as it held her by the ankles. A pair of hollow eyes sat deep in a cobra like skull of a face. It was like staring into a void, and she was frightened.

River had never been so scared. She'd stopped being frightened of monsters at a young age. But she couldn't explain the cold terror that squeezed the life from each heart and blocked air from reaching her needy, burning lungs as that mouth opened, showing glistening fangs.

She was going to die.

No. Stop it River, _think. _

"_I know you're scared. But never run when you're scared." _

There's always a way out.

It was holding her. Skin to skin contact as it dangled her above its widening throat of mist and wind and thunder. So she fought back the only way she could: telepathically.

She gathered all the pain and fear in her body and threw it at the creature.

It wasn't enough to hurt it, but it stunned it enough that she was dropped to the ground with a dull thud that stole air and blood from her throat. River coughed, groaning as she collected herself, forcing herself to fight through the damp haze and reach for a weapon - anything she could use. The creature was stunned enough to be solid. She reached for a rock heaved herself up to stand on shaky legs. She hadn't a clue what its weaknesses were but her instinct told her to go for the head, the brain, _the kill._

She slung the rock full force, striking it squarely in the head and ripping a furious roar of pain from its thunder-clad body. River thought fast, grabbed a nearby branch, and swung it first at a leg, and then at the head again. She got in three more good hits before claws slammed her aside and everything went dark.

River laid unconscious in the leaves as daylight dawned and shadow and mist surrounded her body.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: (feel free to skip my useless rambling) **And we're back with yet another chapter! This one is quite a bit shorter than the others, and I apologize. It's more of a segway chapter into the next part of the story than anything else. The plot moves forward, it's just a little less important and vast than usual. Anyway, I hope you guys have been having an awesome week! I, for one, am still swamped with finals. As for general housekeeping: Kudos to Evenmoor, MrsDalek, and proellusionist for reviewing. As for proellusionist's question... you probably won't be seeing much Clara action from me. I wasn't that big of a fan of her, she was cool, but she just didn't hold her own like I thought she would (she seemed to be like an Amy clone to me), but that's just my opinion - please don't stone me for it. I love all the companions, just some more than others. River, Donna, Barbara and Sarah Jane - in my opinion - are where it's at (but I tend to like the strong characters instead of the ones who are making puppy eyes at the Doctor). Anyway- companion rant aside! (No companion wars here, please). I hope you guys enjoy this chapter even though it's short, and I'll see you all next week! Don't forget to leave me a review :) I promise I don't bite.

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11

_"The skies are burnt orange, with a citadel enclosed in a mighty glass dome beneath twin suns. Beyond that the mountains go on forever, slopes of deep red grass capped with white snow." - The Doctor, Gridlock_

Sam plunged along through the trees as the darkness began to pale, creeping back to its bed in the shadows. Her ankle was throbbing. During the night, she'd had no sense of direction. She'd just followed the riverbank, turning to the side whenever her feet met icy, liquid surprise. Now that she was no longer being chased, the adrenaline and fear was gone, leaving only pain in their wake. Her throat felt dry, her tongue had turned to sand and she finally managed to sink to the spongy earth and crawl her way to where the water ran cool and clear over mossy rocks where tadpoles hid, happy and safe.

She never thought she'd envy a tadpole.

She cupped her hands and dipped them into the river, then drank it greedily. It became a game to chase the water droplets before they escaped back to their source. Finally, she felt refreshed, and took a breath, bracing herself as she stood once more to continue to look for her team.

A flock of birds sprang from their nests and Sam froze, reaching for the pistol she'd locked safely in the calf of her boot. She had no way of knowing whether the disturbance was a squirrel, a wolf, or the creature itself. Her heart began to race as she glared into the underbrush. Then, a sound came that turned her legs to jelly.

"Major Carter!"

Relief, the realization of her rescue flooded through her and she nearly collapsed back to the ground as Teal'c's solid form brushed aside the branches as if they were mere flies. In three quick strides he crossed over to her and supported her while he called loudly for the rest of SG-1. First Daniel, with a surprised little, "Sam!" She could've heard Jack a mile off as he thundered through he bushes. She barely had time to register his frantic questions as he checked her up and down, asking whether or not she was hurt and if she knew if the alien was nearby. She didn't notice the Doctor looking around, forlorn and devastated that his wife hadn't been rescued.

"I... don't know where it is, Sir," Sam answered quickly. She then glanced down at herself. "I think my ankle's sprained, but I'm ok."

"Oh, thank god," Daniel took a step back and let out a sigh.

Jack wrapped an arm around her. "Let's go."

But their archaeologist was scanning the area and his eyebrows drew together. "Where's Dr. Song?"

O'Neill had conveniently forgotten about that. He had nothing against the woman, but he needed to get his team home. "C'mon, Daniel!"

"Wha- you can't just leave my wife out there!"

Jack stopped, sighing as he turned to face the Time Lord who stood in the clearing, looking surprised and angry and terrified, his bowtie all askew. "Look, I want to save her, I do. But I have my own team to think about right now!"

"But, Jack, didn't you say nobody gets left behind?" Daniel pointed out, trying to be patient.

Jack just wanted to get Sam home okay. He supposed the Doctor only naturally felt the same about River. He sighed, warring with himself. It was Sam who pushed him over the edge. "She saved my life, Sir."

That snapped him into action. Jack looked at Teal'c and then back at the Doctor. "We're going to need your help." He wasn't one to turn down expertise when it was standing right there wearing tweed and a bowtie.

Said Expertise grinned and straightened the aforementioned bowtie and nodded. "Right, okay. Sam," he turned to the major, "Can you take us back to where you left River? We'll go from there, track it down."

"And then?"

"I don't know. I've never actually hunted one of these before."

"Great." Jack threw his hands up in the air.

"Look, it's a good start. We have to _find _them first," Daniel reasoned, "We can think about what we'll do on the way."

Sam was already started off in the direction she thought she had come from. She was pretty sure she could find her way back to that hole they'd found the night before. Jack winced as he watched her limp along before walking up to her and putting an arm around her for support. She gave him a grateful smile and continued on.

The Doctor was worried out of his mind, he just didn't want to let on. He didn't think his heart could manage losing River right now. Sure, he knew how she died, but that didn't mean that she could get seriously hurt out here. His left heart jumped at that thought and he swallowed thickly. He'd already lost Amy and Rory... and now Clara. He just didn't want to be alone. Maybe it was selfish, maybe it wasn't, but River was the last thing in the Universe that truly mattered. Nobody else even came close. What would he do without her?

The sun was already at its peak when they reached a small clearing. Sam pointed to a hole in the ground with a small exclamation and they knew they had reached their destination. He looked around, suddenly aware of the roar of the river not far off. The rest of the forest was strangely quiet. No birds, no small animals - just the river, and his River and the creature were somewhere out there. Teal'c was studying the ground intently, translating disturbances in the terrain into a narrative of River's battle from the night before. The Doctor hardly had the courage to listen.

All his energy was spent on thinking. He needed to wrangle this mystery, to bring it into the light. How could someone give form to something that had none? How could one fight an enemy that never seemed to be there? How could he, the last of the Time Lords, somehow manage to wrestle with the bane of his ancestors? He was torn between wanting to leave this last echo of Gallifrey alone, to let go on. It was the last of its kind, just like him, a ripple - a shadow, a footprint in the sand.

Yet the tide from the Oncoming Storm was coming in.

The group was already moving on. He followed them, his mind turning the Keeper's words over and over in his mind. He always did things for a reason - just like he'd given River his screwdriver when she went to the library, he would have told the Keeper that specific stanza of the poem for some reason. That was what he needed to focus on.

They were following a beaten trail, scratch marks in the sandy soil. The ground rolled ever downward. It would slope eventually into a river bank. It would have benefited the Time Lord and SG-1 to know that somewhere, just southward from where they traveled, where the tide of the river washed away track marks, solid mist was ambling along. It dragged on the still-unconscious River Song behind it. The creature was far more intelligent than any Lord of Time had previously thought, and it wanted to avenge the red mountains of Gallifrey from whence it had come.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: (feel free to skip my useless rambling) **And here comes a new chapter! I'm finally on break, so if this was late (which, it isn't) I really wouldn't have had a good excuse - so it's good that it isn't ;) I hope you guys are having a wonderful week so far. I know I am. I've gotten more writing done in these past few days than I have the entire school year combined (which is a little sad). Anyway, as for some general housekeeping: admiraljoshar for reviewing - you get to keep all the kudos to yourself, my dear chap, because you're the only one! - well, anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! Sit down with your favorite hot beverage in these comfy chairs and make yourselves at home. Please don't forget to leave your dishes in the sink and drop me a review on your way out - reviews are like getting a Rory!hug, because Rory is awesome. See you all next week!

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12

_"I will hurt you for this. I don't know how yet, but give me time. A day will come when you think yourself safe and happy, and suddenly your joy will turn to ashes in your mouth, and you'll know the debt is paid." - A Clash of Kings_

They hurried on through the forest, seeking out the river bank. The pace picked up as the signs of where the creature was headed with River became more apparent. The ground became softer and more sandy, and the Doctor skidded down the hill in his hurry, causing SG-1 to run after him before they lost sight of each other. The Doctor wasn't really worrying if they were behind him or not. He expected them to be. His entire thought process was abuzz with worry of his wife, anger at the creature that had taken her, and thoughts of how to get River back. He just couldn't work out why he would have told the Keeper that section of the poem. He kept turning it around in his mind, mentally giving it a shake and a poke. It made no sense to him, though, and it wasn't helping much.

He stopped suddenly when he got through the trees and ended up on the bank of the river. The water rushed past him, gurgling along its way and singing the song of all the places it had passed and seen. He bit his lip and looked this way and that, trying to see which way it was gone. It was then that he noticed the tracks in the sand, pointing to his left, and turned to follow them. The glistening river bent, curving right and away from him a little farther down. He could only hope that just around that elusive curve River would be waiting for him, alive and okay.

Though she was far from that. River woke with a startled cough as she was dropped to the sand and the creature whirled, obviously sensing something behind him.

She couldn't remember anything about the night before. Pain pulsed through her head - she must've hit it pretty badly. Her throat felt like sand, her tongue was dry and thick as she pushed herself onto her front. It was then, with the sharpness of sand gritting into a wound, that she remembered that she was so _very_ close to having her insides spilling out onto the beach, and groaned. Her fight or flight instincts were attempting to flicker to life - but she was in too much pain and far too exhausted for them to do her much good. She could feel the misty-solid of the creature behind her, getting ready to move on, so she decided that it was best to try and get some water first. Her right arm shot out, and she gripped the wet sand, biting her lip and gasping as muscles rippled and she bodily dragged herself to the river's edge.

The minute her fingertips met the cool, glassy surface of the water, cupped it in her hands and brought it to her mouth, letting the water rinse away the fear and grit from her throat. It seemed to settle the pain in her stomach a little, dulling it. That small reprieve was broken when she was yanked back from the water and flipped back onto the sand like a sack of potatoes. She lay there, coughing at the small amount of water that had slipped down the wrong tube in her surprise, and whimpering as each cough wracked her beaten body.

It seemed to be waiting for something, for it hadn't moved yet. Its back was turned to her, but she had a distinct awareness that it could still see her somehow. That feeling turned her spine to ice. She focused on breathing, sucking in great gulps of air and letting it out slowly. River couldn't help but feel a little grateful that they weren't on the move.

The night before was coming back to her in fragmented spurts as she tried yet again to haul herself to her feet, but found that her muscles just wouldn't cooperate. She let out a small cry of frustration, hoping that Sam at least had been able to make it back to safety. Now, River was regretting putting up so much of a fight. Perhaps it would have been better to die rather than to be here, unable to help herself, at the mercy of an alien that most definitely meant her harm and that she knew nothing about. She had no control over the situation, and that was what scared her about it the most.

The only thing she could do now was wait for the Doctor.

It was funny, River had never been much for being a 'damsel in distress', she'd always preferred to be the 'knight in shining armor', who came in at the last moment and saved the day. But how could she now, helpless, close to losing her insides, in so much pain she couldn't see straight? The best she could hope for now was _not to move._

Her fist pounded on the sand and she let out a small cry of frustration. It rippled down the riverbank, startling the beast behind her. It snarled and whirled, kicking her over with a flick of its tail that left her breathless and seeing stars, and she only screamed back at it with Babylonian profanities that would've made a Median Corsair blush. She wouldn't be quiet, for Inanna's sake!

She _almost_ regretted her tenacity when it jerked her into the air. _Almost_.

The Doctor's knees went weak when a throaty scream rang through the forest. Sam froze. That was most definitely River - and she most definitely was in a lot of pain. The Doctor broke into a run, and it only took a few seconds for SG-1 to soon follow suit. He crashed through the brush, arms flailing, heart beating a broken tattoo in his chest, his breath catching in his throat. He hadn't a clue what he would do once he got to River - all he was thinking about right now was finding her.

His feet pounded on the sand as he rounded the river bend, tripping a little, but soon catching himself and staggering onward. He skidded to a stop when he saw it.

Jack rounded the bend much more slowly, supporting Sam, who had insisted that she go on and not be left behind for safety's sake. When he saw that the Doctor had stopped, he helped Sam to sit on the sand and gripped his gun, following his line of sight.

There stood that alien - or- at least - one part of it. It seemed to curl along the beach, mingling with the water as it lapped at the shore. The only thing that was visibly solid was its head, a gruesome half human-skull, half lizard-thing that hung there, glittering, dark eyes eyeing them like they were lunch.

They probably were.

But that wasn't what the Doctor was focusing on. No, he only had eyes for where a tendril of mist hung some twenty feet above the rushing water, where River hung on for dear life, eyes filled with pain and fear, limbs shaking with their effort. Her hair was all a mess, her face bruised, one gash running along the side of her head and another down the length of her left arm. His stomach twisted when he saw where her blood had soaked her shirt along her midsection.

Jack was torn. Everything in him told him to shoot it down, but he also knew that if he did, River would probably fall. There was no way she could swim in that state. She'd drown - and he'd never forgive himself. He glanced back at Daniel, whose eyes were wide behind his glasses as he assessed the situation and knew he hadn't a clue for what to do either.

The Doctor was rushing into the water, unable to stop himself. A fierce growl from the creature cut him short. He swallowed, looking up at his wife who looked down at him. Their eyes locked, and she bit her lip, attempting to look brave.

And all at once his demeanor changed. His eyes darkened, his form slumped, his fists clenched. When he looked back at the creature, it seemed he had aged a hundred years.

"Let her go."

Another growl curled through the ground, followed by mist rippling along behind it. The Doctor fell a step back and River cried out as she nearly lost her grip.

The Doctor's eyes narrowed. "You killed the others, you keep her. Why?" It wasn't that he wasn't grateful that River was still breathing - it was just that all this was pointing to the notion that the creature was far more intelligent than it looked on first glance. He looked up at River, who was struggling to hang on, her mouth forming silent prayers of _please, please, please,_ as she tried to hold on for him. He realized. He realized that this had to be personal. Why would it come to a planet that was so entwined with him? His fist clenched and he shouted, "What do you want from me?"

And just like that, a hurricane reached him, pulling him in. The others couldn't feel it, but he could. It pressed down on his hearts, bearing down on his shoulders: a sweet scent, a glass dome, red mountains. A single word:

_Gallifrey._

A searing flash of light, burning - everything was burning. He was aware of River screaming, of strong arms attempting to keep him upright as the team fought to understand what was happening as the Doctor's legs buckled.

Oh, but this wasn't about them. It wasn't about River. It was about the Doctor - all about him - wasn't everything? Everything was his fault and now River might pay the price for it. He couldn't have that.

He shoved Jack off of him and took deliberate steps to the edge of the riverbank again. "None of the people you have hurt had anything to do with that! Let her go and take me! I'm the one you want!"

Another searing roar that shook the ground. River's strangled cry. That mist curled around him again and he could see everything, he could feel the grief. The bitten off scream of a race plunged into death, the guilt of the last survivor, the longing to just go home. The way childhood memories dissolved in fire, crackling into ash. Then, the image of River tumbling into the water, being washed away in the flood just as Gallifrey had been swept away in fire. Gallifrey had burned, it said - so the Doctor's River would drown.

The tendril River was holding onto disappeared into thin air and she dropped like a pebble into the water with a strangled gasp, a sickening splash, and the Doctor stood there for a moment, hearing a yell that he barely recognized as his own.

Before he knew it, his coat was shirked off and he had leapt into the icy depths after her. Stroke for stroke, fighting against the current, his lungs burning as River drifted ever away from him, tossed by the water. She was fighting - she was a fighter - but she couldn't hold up for long, not with everything she had been through. When she had hit the water so violently, it had knocked what little air she had out of her lungs. River felt like her chest might explode. She could feel both hearts, pounding away as they seemingly rose into her throat and finally into her head. The last thing she felt was each limb go lax and useless as the darkness overwhelmed her.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: (Feel free to skip my useless rambling) **I come from the deepest depths of my bedroom bearing a chapter! *ahem* Next week, the chapter will probably end up being posted on a Sunday as well. I'm gone at Retreat with no access to a laptop or internet. I'll still have the chapter written, I just won't be able to post it. Also, special kudos to Evenmoor and Admiraljoshhar for reviewing! You guys are awesome and you make my day :) This chapter was difficult to write, mainly because I don't think I'm very good at writing the darker aspects of Eleven's character. He can be quite the dark!Doctor sometimes and this was my go at it. I hope I did it right. Anyway, have fun, enjoy reading, and I don't forget to leave me a review for when I get back! I'll be looking forward to hearing from you guys. :) See you all Sunday!

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13

_"How much more grievous are the consequences of anger than the causes of it." - Marcus Aurelias_

This was his fault. All, completely, utterly his fault. The Doctor couldn't push that accusation away as he swam towards his wife's limp body that was floating ever farther away from him, rushed along by the current. He was fast running out air, even with two hearts, double the lung capacity. She was just a little farther. His lungs were burning as he reached out to take hold of River's collar.

Come on.

Fish fingers and custard.

His fingertip caught the edge of her jumper and his hearts both leapt into his throat. As quick as he could, he turned and he propelled himself forward, taking her firmly under the arms and then kicking hard to get to the surface. The water was against him, roaring in his ears and stinging his eyes, pushing like a relentless wall. He needed to breathe, River needed to be okay. He dragged her bodily forward, seeing the bright, shimmering surface of the water above his head like a beacon in a dark, storming night.

In a sudden, brilliant flash of water droplets and rushing air he broke the surface. He readjusted his grip, moving to grab River by the waist and haul her forward to the beach and the waiting team.

Please don't let it be too late.

He felt blessed sand beneath his feet and let out a breath. He dragged her up to the team, who rushed forward to see if she was alright. The creature on the opposite shore was all but forgotten as he laid her reverently down, tucking a wet curl behind her ear.

"River, River, _please,_" he whispered frantically, leaning over her, one fist planted in the sand next to her left ear, the other fluttering to her throat to find the double pulse. Her skin was pale, a mere shade of the woman that had been here the day before. His face was rapidly draining of color to match hers. He sat back on his heels, scrabbling for her clammy hand in his wet, warm one. "River. Don't," he whispered.

He couldn't find her pulse.

No. This wasn't right. This was all wrong. She didn't die here. She couldn't.

He hiccupped, tears springing to his eyes as raw anger began a slow burn in his constricting chest. River was the last of him. The best of him. The worst of him - the darkness, the shadow to his form. She was always there, just like that shadow, ready to follow him into the dark and to stay there with her and _oh_ he hated and loved her for it. He always had kept her close by his side, taking her hand just to make sure she stayed by him always. This was his fear - losing her - in the back of his mind Darillium hung like a bitter pall and this _wasn't Darillium_ and yet she was still slipping out of his fingers like so much sand through an hourglass, going where he couldn't follow, and yet he gripped her hand now harder than ever before as if that one touch could keep her by his side.

Sam was trying to push him off of her, to try and resuscitate River. He let himself fall limply away, face numb, eyes a brewing storm. He didn't feel like he was on the beach as he watched SG-1 scramble to save his wife. All he could feel now was anger. He didn't know what he was doing as he rose to his feet and turned toward the water. His eyes followed the curling stain of River's blood from where he'd dragged her up the beach across the sand. The water had long washed it from the rocks but here, here in the sand, it was there like red ink splashed across a ledger. He planted his feet firmly in that red sand, red like the fires of Pompeii, red like a rose. Red like Amy or Donna's hair. Red like that one dress Clara had worn. Red like the blood of the Time Lords and the mountains of and skies of Gallifrey.

He took slow, deliberate steps through that trail, ignoring the commotion behind him as his old/young eyes trained on that rumbling storm of black smoke that curled along the opposite bank. He was so, so angry. Angry at the creature for hurting River, angry at himself for everything he'd done.

Finally he stepped back into the water, feeling it ebb around his ankles, icy water numbing his skin to match the rest of him and for a moment his gaze stared into the blue depths of the deeper part of the river and he considering flinging himself into the depths, to somehow receive the punishment- _no - _the _retribution_ that he needed. He would never be at peace as long as he lived.

But he was here for a purpose, and so he straightened and stared the monster in the face and glared it down.

"You don't know what you've done," he whispered to it. "I'm angry now." He took a step back. "Look at me!" An answering ripple from the darkness. "I've got nothing left to lose! So tell me, what's going to stop me from killing you?"

And it whispered across the water, a taunt, a laugh. It was _laughing _at him, because it knew he had no idea how to harm it.

And if it was possible, that only made him angrier. His eyes darkened and his fists clenched at his sides.

The creature took no notice. To it, his quarrel was done. It was finished. The Doctor was no more than a fly. It had exacted its revenge and there was nothing left to say. The mist slowly began to turn and disappear into the forest.

The Doctor stared. No, no, no. He wasn't about to let it get away. He had to stop it - but how?

Jack hadn't a clue as to what was going on. Sam and Daniel were working frantically to expell the water from River's lungs and the Colonel was straining to hear what was happening on the beach. He took a step forward and his breath caught in his throat at the look in the Doctor's eyes. He knew that look. He knew that look so well. Jack's brown eyes widened and he started toward the Time Lord.

"Doc?" Jack called, walking up to him. His form was rippling with tension as he looked at the creature slinking back into the dark, brumal spaces between the trees.

"Be quiet Jack, thinking," was the curt, quiet, measured reply. The Doctor never took his eyes off the mist.

He knew he had given himself that stanza of the poem for a reason. How could one fight a creature that wasn't solid, that sometimes didn't seem to exist anywhere but your head? How did you fight your fears, your nightmares, your worst enemies? How could he face the bane of the Time Lords - this creature itself that now drifted away, nearly solid, void eyes seeming to suck at his very being? Yet he was facing it.

He would never run when he was scared.

Right now he was terrified.

He didn't look it, but he was. He was also angry, and sometimes he just couldn't help it, sometimes he couldn't stop himself. Sometimes something had to be done to ease the pain in his mind.

Eleven took a breath.

He centered all the pain he felt, all the fear and the worry and the self-hate and mentally sharpened it to a point.

_Beware the Jabberwock, my son,_

_the jaws that bite, the claws that scratch_

_Beware the Jujub Bird,_

_And the furious Bandersnatch._

He turned it over and over in his head, searching, thinking. Thinking of all the legends and the stories he'd heard, about everything he was and everything he had been. He thought about River and why she meant so much to him. He thought about the alien, everything he'd seen it do, all the laws of the Universe it defied, and suddenly he knew. He knew suddenly why he was given that poem, why it was so important it was written on the walls, why Aeone knew it. He looked up at the creature, in his head drawing back a bow-string as it slunk away.

All the pain in one point, he then cried across the riverbank: "I name you Jabberwocky."

The ground shook. The creature let out a high-pitched, surprised, horrible wail that shrieked into a deep, secret place inside of the Doctor. The name descended on the area like a nuclear bomb drop resounding with a deep, rumbling boom that shook birds from their nests and flattened the grass around the mist and sent pebbles skipping down the rapids. The creature solidified. All at once the Doctor saw his opening, and took it. He released that mental arrow. Even he felt it rip through the creature's mind, the plain splintering across the synapses and lighting up the centers of the brain and wracking a shudder and another moan from the now-solid body as the Doctor held on to it, held on to the one-way link that he'd createc, feeding it more and more. On the other side of the river, River's eyes jerked open, because she had felt it too.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: (feel free to skip my useless rambling) **hello, my dear readers! I'm back from my Retreat - I'm a little sunburnt and quite tired, but it was worth it in every sense. I hope you guys have been having as awesome of a week as I have. This author ramble is going to be a lot longer than usual because I have something to explain - but first, special kudos to: T.R. Meyers, Evenmoor, admiraljoshhar, a random person, and The Mythical Pen for reviewing - you guys are awesome! Okay, now, on to that explanation. A reviewer commented that the Doctor had a respiratory bypass, and therefore should not have struggled so much last chapter. Let me explain. I've swam in a river, specifically, rapids. It's extremely difficult and I don't care if you're a Time-Lord and have extra help a la physiology - you will have trouble breathing if you've never done it before. He stayed underwater for a very long amount of time (sorry if that wasn't clear), and when you're rushing along a river underwater, your body wants to suck in air because of the way the water is pulling and pressuring at you. It's almost involuntary. So that's why he struggled so much. They also said that it was never mentioned in the show that River has two hearts. I know. It's something I assume to be true because I like the idea - it's my interpretation of how the whole "half human, half Time Lord" thing worked out. You see, I think that the Time Lord genes are mostly dominant compared to the human ones, which means that the Two-Heart gene would have won out of the One-Heart gene. So River would have two instead of one. Make sense? Alright. Anyway, apologies for that, and I hope everything's clear now. So, anyway, this is a really feels-y chapter and I hope I got everyone in-character. We'll probably have one more chapter after this. Please sit back, enjoy, and please leave me a review on the way out! They make me smile!

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14

_"I have always found that mercy bears richer fruits than strict justice." - Abraham Lincoln_

Sam let out a gasp when River did, relief flooding her body in waves that ebbed between icy and scalding. Daniel rolled the woman to the side as she coughed violently to expel the water from her lungs. Sam winced in sympathy as each cough wracked a pained shudder from River's body.

River couldn't explain the feeling in her head, a mixed cocktail of shock, pain, and a stress that wasn't hers, weighing down on her mind, caused her stomach to do somersaults. Everything flowed around her like water, settling around her mind like a mist, and suddenly the ground was pulsing anew and she was aware of ungodly screams, of Daniel and Sam and Teal'c trying to figure out among themselves what exactly they were seeing, of Jack standing in shock by the shore. She couldn't decipher one sound, one feeling, one _color_ or distinct _thought_ from the other until she saw the lanky form of the Doctor, standing on the rocky shore, framed by the setting sun in a grim silhouette.

And then she _knew_.

Teal'c could feel beneath his combat boots the pulsing, raw energy beneath his shoes. His symbiote was disturbed, frightened inside of him. He felt a disquiet settle over him and turned his eyes back to the creature the Doctor had in his grasp.

It was a battle of minds. The creature - the Jabberwocky- was trying desperately to close its mind to the pain that wasn't its own. It would seem the Doctor was too far gone to stop himself as he threw the images, the sounds, the macabre sights and smells of the Time War at it.

_How does that feel now? _

A crash, a brilliant, searing flash of light, the chaotic counsels and the long goodbyes. The horrible, fearsome decision - the one as simple as a flip of a switch and as complex as the death of his family or the death of the Universe, the knowledge that he had killed his _wife and children and mother. Oh, _how that had chewed at his hearts, clawed at his skin, creeping into his bed at night and skulking in the shadows of the control room. Lurking in the books of the Library.

"_I died that day - and you want to punish me for it?_" He was too surprised that words were leaving his throat, unbidden as he shouted in Gallifreyan at the writhing mass on the ground.

Hadn't he punished himself enough? It was someone else's turn.

Its sides heaved, pained, choked, gasping breaths. He could almost _feel_ the way its throat seemed to be collapsing in on itself under a pain it couldn't possibly handle. The way the eyes jerked open, the claws skittering along the stones for purchase against the hurt he hurled at it. Here the Doctor was, able to release his pain, and it only left him feeling emptier.

He stared into those eyes and another pair flew across his imagination - brown with flecks of gold, a shock of dark hair, a pert nose. That voice like sun after rain or the bubbling of a brook. _Wife._ And her scream that he'd heard, ripped through space and echoed in his being every night, even while he'd remembered her tear-filled eyes shining with understanding. The guilt that stalked him, followed him like a Fury, that condemned him every day, hiding in the stoop of his form even when he was happy. _He had killed her._

He was vaguely aware of a hand on his shoulder, tugging forcibly, and he couldn't stop the ebb of the thoughts through that connection, like blood flowing through an open wound. He just kept that point embedded in the creature, not paying attention to the fact that its cries had gotten more and more desperate and frightened.

The Doctor could still remember when his son was small. His laughing, dark brown eyes so like his father's tenth regeneration. They'd been large, wide-set. He'd had a shock of wild brown curls and a rather large nose. He could remember his sticky fingers and ruddy cheeks, the fall of his head on his shoulder while he slept and his steady breathing.

He still could feel the bitter taste in his mouth at that last, crushing hug. His son, all grown up, the matter explained as his sharp, intelligent eyes had taken it in, his arm around his own wife. He had been tall and striking for a young man of one-hundred, on his second regeneration. He had been so ready to take on the world.

The Doctor had taken that from him.

He just wished he could hear that lilting word, the name he used to be called - not _his _name, but _father_. Just one more time. Just one more in that voice.

The mental point twisted in both him and the Jabberwocky, wringing a broken sob from the Doctor and another pleading cry from the form on the ground.

"Let it go."

It was the softest of whispers and the Doctor didn't know where it had come from at first. Suddenly he could see something other than Gallifrey. Jack, standing squarely in front of him, looking shaken. Both hands were fisted in the tweed of the Doctor's jacket and he thought that he must have been trying to stop him.

Then he realized the thumbs planted on either side of his neck, rubbing in what he supposed was a gesture of comfort. _Oh._

_Jack had seen all of that._

"Let. It. _Go_," Jack repeated.

The Doctor didn't know if he was talking about the Jabberwocky or Gallifrey. He looked past those searing brown eyes that reminded him too much of his son to the slump lying on the sand, shivering, whimpering, trying to stand. He didn't see any sign of aggressiveness in it - only sadness in its eyes.

But he didn't want to let go.

He felt those fingers tighten in his jacket. "Look at me," Jack hissed. The Doctor had no choice but to obey. Jack took a breath, "I get it. I understand. You lost your son."

"You can't understand," the Doctor snapped back, eyes smoldering. "I _killed him_," he ground out.

"And mine died because he shot himself with my own gun - you don't think I blamed myself?" Jack shot back. The other man ground his jaw, clenching and unclenching his fist as that statement sunk in. Jack loosened his grip a little and looked away, "And I died every day thinking about it." Jack inhaled sharply through his nose, "But then I found something else to live for and I realized Charlie wouldn't want me to be angry at myself for that. Life is so much... more... I don't know - it's _more than that_ - than screwing up. There's no point in living like you're dead, Doctor - let go."

The Doctor felt his limbs starting to give away and he glanced back at Sam, Daniel, Teal'c and lastly River. He could feel his hearts clench and catch in his chest when he saw her sitting there on the sand, cheeks still stained with leftover tears, hand pressed to her stomach. He couldn't place the expression on her face. He couldn't tell if it was shock, fright, or disappointment.

He felt something coil within him as he glanced between the faces of the team and the Jabberwocky. This beautiful mystery of Gallifrey that he had almost destroyed, an echo he had almost silenced, a flame he'd nearly quenched. He had done this. This needed to stop.

He couldn't run forever - yet neither could he try to punish himself and others for his pain.

He just wanted to be done.

Shaking free from Jack's grip, he withdrew and circled around his form, walking toward the Jabberwocky. He stepped into the River, feeling the water rush around his knees. He plunged into it, closing his eyes, swimming through it stroke by stroke until he emerged on the other side and stepped onto the shore.

He stood in front of the huddled, black form - now seemingly so much smaller - and knelt.

He withdrew the mental tip and slowly held out his hand, his stomach doing flip-flops when it-he flinched from his touch. The Doctor took a breath, and pressed his fingertips to the creature's snout.

It was cool, wet, smooth. The Jabberwocky shuddered and the Doctor sobbed.

- _I'm sorry._

And somehow it seemed to understand. Softer pain flew from it to him, a grief that no words existed for - but no anger. They shared in that grief, the Jabberwocky and the Time Lord, a grief that sang of the mountains of Gallifrey, their childhood, their home. They'd tried anger and it hadn't gotten them anywhere - and so now they put away the weapons and shared it in mutual understanding, both too tired of fighting to fight any longer - both just lonely monsters longing for a companion. When one fights and is hurt and recognizes another's pain, when one goes so long running away and trying to put it off, there's nothing left to do but to release and to rest.

He felt a stronger emotion, an undertone, a beautiful harmony to the grief: he felt forgiven.

They both sat there on the beach, crying as the sun went down. The Doctor let go of Gallifrey and he couldn't quite bring himself to forgive himself of his sins entirely - but at least somebody was there who had shared the pain, who knew he was responsible, and had forgiven him.

River pushed herself up off the sand to Sam's chagrin and made her way to the shore. She stood there, unable to swim across, only able to watch as her Doctor dissolved. But then the Jabberwocky disintegrated an arm and formed a small bridge, and she walked across with his help and a whispered thanks. She all but collapsed in his arms and they held each other, and both River and the Doctor knew they weren't broken.

"_How did you do it_?" she whispered after a few moments - and oh, he loved the Gallifreyan on her tongue.

He smiled a little and glanced back at the creature. "_I named him. A name's the most powerful magic there is." _


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: (Feel free to skip my useless rambling) Aha! And we're back with the last chapter! This one was a lot of fun for me to write, I hope you guys like it as much as I do. I think I managed to tie up all the loose ends. I'm terribly horrible at endings because I hate ending stories - I always miss them terribly when I'm finished. Anyway, hopefully this one is satisfying enough for you guys. As for general housekeeping: special kudos to T.R. Meyers, Evenmoor, a random person, and admiraljoshhar for reviewing. As for admiraljoshhar's question: the Doctor's family wasn't actually based off of anyone, I decided that Susan looked much like the Doctor's wife did and that his son looked like a cross between Four and Ten, but that's about it. Ah, I must say, I'm not looking forward to this story being finished. I really enjoyed writing it, but unfortunately all good things must come to an end. I hope you guys enjoyed this one as much as I enjoyed writing it. So, kick back, have a cup of tea and a jammy dodger, and read. I'll see you guys soon when I post a new story :) Thank you so much for all of your support, your constructive criticism, and generally for being absolutely the best readers on this site. You guys are awesome! Ah, and don't forget to leave a review on your way out - see you all soon, and thanks a bunch!

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15

_"Things we lose have a way of coming back to us in the end, if not always in the way we expect." - JK Rowling_

It wasn't long before the pain inflicted on the Jabberwocky became too much. Yes, the Doctor had let go, but that didn't stop the damage he'd made. The Time Lord could only sit back and watch as the last echo of a world he'd lost began gasping and shuddering, eyes wide with pain and something akin to fear. It wasn't quite fear, not the fear of a being running from death, but a fear of having to leave, the same fear that stops a person from finishing a book because they aren't ready for it to end, the fear of someone realizing that they're out of time and they had just only begun to understand what the time given them was for. The raw ache of a song half finished, and the Doctor could only whisper "No."

He sank back against the sandy beach, fingertips brushing the Jabberwocky's trembling head, telling the creature that this was his fault, that he was sorry, that he was stupid, that he should have stopped. He was ready to let go of another regeneration, to mend the hurt, to fix it, but as golden light fled from his hand to the creature, the Jabberwocky didn't want to be helped.

The last strength he had was spent in hurling the Doctor away. A scream of frustration was ripped from the Time Lord's throat and with the Jabberwocky's last deep, rumbling, intake of breath, Gallifrey's remnants were once again down to two.

He kicked a stone into the water and fought when River pulled him into her arms. Another yell, a violent shove, and several hot tears later and he was slack against her, face buried in her shoulder, shoulders shaking in quiet sobs.

When he pulled back, he felt stupid all over again because River was shaking and he could see it was a battle for her to even remain upright. His eyes went wide at the wound on her stomach and he looked up at her, and she bit her lip.

"I'm not dying, so don't you dare use a regeneration on me, Doctor," River hissed, leaning heavily on him. "I'll be fine."

He scooped her up and carried her back across the fjord to the waiting SG team. River insisted on stopping so she could re-stitch herself up, but the Doctor wouldn't hear of her doing it herself, and he knelt there by the riverbank and did it for her with whispered words of encouragement and fingers that were surprisingly clever. When he was sure she was secure, he rewrapped her with a clean bandage and still insisted on helping her walk the distance back to the place where it had all began.

They stopped to rest in Aeonne's cave, at the reddened cliffs of Ydenia. The sun set and he held River while she slept, and Sam leaned her head on Jack's shoulder and Daniel fell asleep on his notebooks. Teal'c conversed with Aeone into the night, recounting what had happened, and all was as it should be.

Aeone returned with them to the city. A town meeting was called, in which the Doctor - Grandfather, and his River were introduced to the people who had waited so long to see them. It was announced that the Creature had a name, that he was called Jabberwocky, and that he was dead. By that afternoon, the city was lit up with a thousand lanterns, and bright banners were strung from every rooftop, and a festival began that the team and the Doctor and River were assured would last for days, and that they were all invited to.

It was difficult to explain to Daebla that the Doctor wanted to leave.

"You're our honored guest," she said, brow furrowed as she looked up at the tall, ridiculous man. "You must stay."

He took a breath, shoulders slumped, hands folded behind his back. His gaze found where River was reclined on a settee in the center of the roundhouse, Daniel sitting indian style next to her as they together recounted the Epic of Gilgamesh to a dozen or so eager listeners. His eyes then found the dance outside in the town square, the weave of the bodies, the flurry of colors, his ears picked up the happy folk tune that to him merely sounded like a dirge. He then turned back to Daebla and managed a small smile. It didn't quite reach his eyes. "I'm sorry, but we really do have to go."

He didn't tell her that he had no interest in a party commemorating a death that was entirely his fault.

She searched his face, lips pursed, eyes sad, before giving him a small nod and a smile. "Of course."

He bounced lightly on the balls of his feet and clapped, all at once that grim demeanor fading away and a bright, childish grin replacing it. "Don't worry, we'll come back - I'm sure. How could we keep away?"

Daebla couldn't help but let her smile widen at that. "Just... try to return a bit more quickly, this time?"

Scratching the top of his head, he nodded. "Ah, yes, that. Sorry about that." He vowed to return soon enough that she would see him again in a timely fashion.

The Doctor let River and Daniel finish their story before he pulled her out so they could leave. Jack seemed ready to leave as well, with the muttered: "As much as I love a party, we gotta go."

Daebla and Aeone saw to it that the town sent them off in one last hurrah, with drumrolls and singing and flower wreaths that Daniel and Sam seemed to enjoy much more than Teal'c did - though the multi-colored flowers did look quite pretty on his clean-shaven head (according to local women).

They walked back into the forest and SG-1 was confused to see a blue box standing out among the trees. The Doctor gave them an ecstatic smile and opened the door. "Come on in!"

Teal'c looked at Daniel, and Daniel looked at Sam, and Sam looked at Jack, who felt quite a lot of pressure because he felt as if they were all looking at him now. Jack blinked at the Doctor. "I don't think we'll fit."

"Oh, you will, trust me," he grinned and went inside, and River gave them a smirk and followed.

Sam went in first. She figured, what harm could it do? Well, her jaw very nearly hit the floor as she saw the console room. "Oh my god."

The Doctor giggled as he walked around the control panel. "Yeah?"

Jack was the second, he walked in, looking skeptical, before his eyes went wide and he let out a loud, "Whoah."

Daniel's mouth dropped open when he walked in with the Jaffa. Teal'c remained unfazed. If he was amazed, his reaction was only shown through one lifted eyebrow and an even: "It appears to be bigger on the inside."

Jack gave him a look, "No, really?"

"This is impossible," Sam breathed, "I mean, we have theories about bubble dimensions - but we never dreamed that..." she looked at the Doctor, "How does it work?" she demanded.

While the Doctor went through all of the scientific lingo with Sam, Jack and Daniel and Teal'c got the simple explanation from River. She came out with two boxes, a big one, and a little one, then placed the big one farther away.

"Now, going only by perspective, which one looks bigger?" she asked Jack.

Jack pointed toward the small box closest to them.

River smiled. "Exactly. So from this perspective, you could fit the bigger box inside the smaller one, couldn't you?"

Jack still didn't get it.

The Doctor let Sam fly the TARDIS with him and River, and they landed in just a few seconds just outside the Stargate. With a laugh, the Doctor spun on his heels and flung open the door, but the smile faded when he realized it was time to let them go.

SG-1 filed out of the TARDIS, Sam still taking notes on the TARDIS and Daniel gratefully accepting River's notebook on Gallifreyan. Teal'c went to go dial up the Gate, and the roar of it filled the quiet air.

"You'll come and visit, won't you?" Daniel asked River, "I could use some help with all the new information in the lab - and Sam'll probably have destroyed hers trying to replicate the TARDIS technology."

River couldn't help but laugh at that. "Of course we will."

The gate opened with the tell-tale _woosh_, and they knew that their time was up. Teal'c waited patiently on the stone steps while Sam told River to take care of herself and then went up to join him. Daniel followed soon after, shoving the notebook into his backpack. Jack was the last to go.

They looked each other up and down, the Colonel and the Time Lord, man of war and man of peace, and gave each other a nod. Jack extended his hand, and the Doctor took it in a firm shake, and then he suddenly threw his arms around him and whispered, "Jack? Thank you."

The Colonel coughed once, hugging him back tightly. "You're welcome. You're not a bad guy, Doctor. You just need a kick in the pants sometimes."

He laughed. "Sounds painful."

Jack shook his head, chuckling. "Figure of speech." He was about to say goodbye when the Doctor shook his head, and simply let go of him. Jack got the message and turned walking up the steps and giving him a small salute before stepping through the wormhole with his team.

The Doctor heaved a small sigh, and River asked, "You alright?"

He looked at her, eyeing her bruised face and shaking his head. "You're asking me?"

"I'm fine," she replied, brushing it off with a small smile. "Though that notebook is going to be a pain to replicate."

He laughed at that and took her hand, giving her a grin and tugging her back into the TARDIS. He began to run around the console, pushing buttons and pulling levers as the console whizzed to life and the floor hummed beneath their feet. River got that familiar feeling, that taste of adventure in her mouth as she smiled and walked up to help him. "Where are we going?"

He looked up at her from across the expanse of buttons. "Earth, Cheyenne Mountain, of course, where do you think?"

River grinned and raced him to the flight-lever.

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_Fin._


End file.
